Levante vs Granada CF preview - Martinez looking to lift Levante

Posted Saturday, April 28, 2012 by PA

Levante remain very much in the hunt for a Champions League place with just four Primera Division matches remaining, and coach Juan Ignacio Martinez is dreaming of achieving a top-four finish.

In contrast to many of their rivals, Levante's run-in is relatively straightforward, but Martinez is wary of facing a Granada team this weekend which still requires a few points to guarantee survival.

He told the club's website: "There is only a little bit of the league left and we are playing for such a nice dream which is to play in Europe. We are immersed in this dream. Our grand finale starts with Granada. We need to build on the draw we got at Sevilla in the last game.

"Granada have a lethal counter-attack and are a very attacking side. It will be a dangerous game because they still need points for survival and they will come here to surprise us and beat us."

Juanfran returns from suspension for the hosts and he should regain his place at left-back with Pedro Lopez moving to his more natural position on the right side of defence.

Granada, meanwhile, took a huge step towards securing their top-flight status for next season with a 1-0 win over Getafe last weekend to move eight points clear of the bottom three and coach Abel Resino has stressed the importance of having matters in their own hands at this stage of the season.

He told Marca: "The teams below us are going to give everything, but we are dependent on ourselves and we are not going to look at the others, but concentrate on our games.

"We need to maintain our intensity. We have an important advantage but we can't relax. Levante is a well-organised team that has created a great excitement amongst their fans. They don't stand out for their names, but for their group, and they are comfortable at defending."