Having shown some improvement in recent weeks to come close to leaving the relegation zone, Levante will be hoping to escape the bottom three with a win over Real Betis.

Los Verdiblancos were unable to prevent Atletico Madrid from winning at Estadio Benito Villamarin, but the good performance against the title contenders will keep them in good stead for the game at Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.

Levante have been defying the odds of several years now, not only successfully escaping the relegation tussle, but also making it to Europa League as well.

However, the current season did not have the best of starts with los Granotes slipping to the relegation zone after winning just one of first 11 league fixtures.

The 1-1 draw with Deportivo La Coruna then ended a run of three heavy defeats and it appears to have served as a confidence boost.

Namely, Levante then went on to record a 3-0 away triumph over Sporting Gijon, thus effectively reviving their survival bid.

Los Granotes will now attempt to escape the bottom three and they have been made 2.10 (11/10) favourites to defeat Real Betis.

There have been no fresh injury worries for coach Rubi, but talented defender Ivan Lopez continues to miss out through injury.

Probable starting line-up (4-1-4-1): Ruben – Pedro Lopez, Navarro, Feddal, Tono – Simao Junior – Morales, Lerma, Camarasa, Ruben Garcia – Deyverson.

The arrival of Rafa van der Vaart, Heiko Westermann and Juan Manuel Vargas created a real buzz at Real Betis, but it was the return of prodigal son Joaquin that saw the fans start believing this could turn out to be a great season for the club.

But, with coach Pepe Mel having experienced plenty of selection worries in the opening exchanges, his side have yet to hit the ground running.

Los Verdiblancos did show a great deal of improvement of late, defeating Malaga on the road before giving a good account of themselves in the narrow loss to Atletico Madrid.

Nevertheless, the fans are demanding more from their team, which places an extra pressure on the players’ shoulders ahead of the trip to Valencia.

Adan, Didier Digard, Amro Tarek and Vincenzo Rennella are all out injured, with talented Dani Ceballos tipped to start in spite of bruising his knee.

Juan Manuel Vargas has finally recovered from a knee problem, but he is in very poor physical condition and unlikely to play a part.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Adan – Piccini, Gonzalez, Westermann, Varela – Torres, N’Diaye – Joaquin, Ceballos, Cejudo – Ruben Castro.