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Steffen Schmidt - June 5, 2023
Levante vs Albacete
Spanish Segunda Division Playoffs
Date: 7 June 2023, Wednesday
Kick-off at 20:00 UK / 21:00 CET
Venue: Estadio Ciudad de Valencia (Valencia).
Levante gained a huge advantage with a 1-3 victory over Albacete in the first leg of the Spanish Segunda Division playoffs semifinal on Saturday evening.
The team from Valencia are now massive favorites to advance to the playoffs final as they enter the reverse fixture at 1.80 odds to win in 90 minutes of play.
We, however, struggle to find value there for multiple reasons. Namely, Levante do not need to push strong for the win here with a two-goal advantage in pocket.
Secondly, Javi Calleja’s men did not quite deserve the 3-1 scoreline four days ago. They can only thank Jorge de Frutos for his sudden moments of magic at Estadio Carlos Belmonte.
De Frutos made the difference between the two outfits with a brace on Saturday and he now has 5 goals in 40 appearances for Levante this term.
Albacete also failed to do much in the final third four days ago but they still had better chances and certainly deserved at least not to lose on Saturday.
The lack of experience may have played a big factor since two ranks of divisions separated these rivals last season. Levante played the top-flight football last year while Albacete arrived to Segunda Division from the third tier this season.
Albacete deserved more than a loss four days ago in the first leg. The tie seems to be all but finished ahead of the return game but the visitors do have enough quality to at least make things interesting on Wednesday night.
We will take the 1.95 odds for Albacete to win or draw while we are also tempted by the 1.72 odds for the Under 2.5 goals FT pick, expecting Levante to utilize a more defensive-minded approach here.
