Levante vs Eibar preview - Garitano wants to stop the rot

Posted Friday, March 06, 2015 by PA

Eibar's promising start to the season is a distant memory for coach Gaizka Garitano ahead of Friday's game at Levante.

Sunday's 1-0 home loss to Athletic Bilbao was Eibar's sixth straight defeat and dropped the Basque outfit to 13th in the standings, five points clear of Levante, who are in the relegation zone.

"We are better than what our recent results suggest," Garitano told Spanish sports newspaper Marca. "Right now we are not playing at our best."

Eibar, who gained promotion to the Spanish top flight last summer, were eighth in the standings after a 2-1 triumph over Getafe on January 10, but have mustered just one point since.

"We just need a victory to end the rot and regain our confidence," Garitano said. "We need to react against Levante.

"Defensively, we are doing well but we need to create a lot more up front if we want to win games."

Eibar have lost their last three games 1-0 and have failed to score in five of their last six league matches.

Fortunately for Garitano's men, they take on a Levante side that has the leakiest defence in the competition with 48 goals given away.

Levante have not kept a clean sheet since January 9 and last Saturday's 4-2 defeat at Rayo Vallecano was their 13th loss of the campaign.

Lucas Alcaraz's team are 18th in the standings, two points adrift of Elche, who hold the last safety position.

"We, the club, the fans and the players, are aware that the game against Eibar is like a final," Levante midfielder Ruben Garcia said. "They are also fighting to avoid relegation this season and we will go out determined to win the game.

"I think the key to defending our Primera Division status will be to win as many games as possible at home."

Levante have won three of their last four games at the Ciudad de Valencia stadium.