Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema's record vs. Levante

Real Madrid travel to the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia on Sunday evening to take on Levante in a must-win match for their title ambitions.

A shock defeat to Girona last weekend has left Santiago Solari's side third in the table, with leaders Barcelona opening the gap to 12 points with a Lionel Messi-inspired win over Sevilla.

Solari has refused to rule his side out of the title race, but he will know that another slip-up would surely end any lingering hopes of catching their Clasico rivals.

Karim Benzema's recent form is a big reason as to why Madrid are still hanging on in contention, and here Sports Mole looks at how he has fared against Levante in the past.

Benzema has directly contributed to nine goals in his 13 previous meetings with Levante, although the most recent of the five he has scored himself came more than seven years ago.

Just two of those five goals have come in his 11 league games against Levante and he has failed to find the back of the net in his last seven editions of this fixture.

The Frenchman has at least registered an assist in his last two meetings with Sunday's opponents - including in the 2-1 defeat at the Bernabeu earlier this season - but those are the only goals to which he has directly contributed since February 2012.

Indeed, the majority of Benzema's goal contributions came in one Copa del Rey clash in December 2010, when he joined Cristiano Ronaldo in scoring a hat-trick while also notching a pair of assists in an 8-0 drubbing.