Levante vs Atletico Madrid

Underperforming La Liga heavyweights Atletico Madrid travel to the Estadi Ciutat de València to meet second-tier Levante in the Copa del Rey round of 16.

After two comfortable Copa del Rey triumphs over lower-league opposition, Levante claimed a come-from-behind 3-2 win over La Liga strugglers Getafe in the last round to set up this tie. Only two points adrift of direct promotion spots in the Segunda Division, ‘Los Azulgranas’ head into this fixture in high spirits after going unbeaten in their last 17 matches across all competitions (W11, D6), including a 3-1 home victory over Granada at the weekend. Too hot to handle on home turf, Javier Calleja’s men have tallied an impressive nine-game unbeaten run at the Estadi Ciutat de València (W6, D3), winning the last three in a row. It’s also worth mentioning they’ve averaged 2.66 goals per game during that three-game sequence, suggesting a more heavily fancied Atletico won’t have a walk in the park.

Indeed, not much has gone Atletico Madrid’s way of late, with back-to-back winless La Liga matches (D1, L1) throwing their top-four hopes in doubt. Low scoring has been a common theme in Atletico’s post-World Cup outings, as four out of five have featured under 2.5 total goals, with the solitary exception of a 3-1 demolition of lower-league Arenteiro in the second Copa del Rey round. Diego Simeone’s lads have won all three Copa del Rey fixtures on the road this season via a two-goal margin, so it’s little wonder they come into this showdown as pre-match favorites. Hold that thought for a moment, though, to consider ‘Los Colchoneros’ have drawn three of their last four competitive visits to Levante (W1), two of which yielded an identical 2-2 scoreline.