The Levante playing staff announced on Monday that they would be calling an indefinite strike from Saturday because of the club's continuing failure to pay up outstanding salaries and bonuses dating back to last season.

And with no sign yet of any solution being found that has left Sunday`s encounter, where Madrid had been due to be presented with the Primera Liga trophy amid various planned celebrations at the Bernabeu, in limbo.

This is the second time the Levante playing staff have called a strike, having last month announced they intended to withdraw their services on the weekend of April 26 and 27.

That situation was averted after a deal was eventually thrashed out on the evening of Friday April 25, with Valencia city council stepping in to help the club by guaranteeing an eight million euro fund to keep the players going in the short term.

However, the situation has still not been satisfactorily resolved for the players and, after wearing t-shirts and displaying banners highlighting their plight prior to their last two league matches, they announced a second strike.

Schuster is sympathetic to Levante's plight but hopes that they will fulfil Sunday's fixture, saying on Saturday: "They (Levante) have been professionals throughout the weeks and we hope that they also come to play this week as they have done before."

Schuster does admit to being concerned about the whole situation, though, adding: "It seems incredible that this happens in Spain and that until tomorrow you don`t know if there will be a game."

The German also dismissed speculation from earlier this week that Madrid might play a friendly match against another team if Levante carried out their strike threat.

"No. Tomorrow there is only one game and it will be against Levante. It would be ridiculous for there to be anything else," he said.

"If we cannot play against Levante, we will only have our celebration. The only game that there will be tomorrow is against Levante."

Schuster has named his whole 25-man squad for the encounter, which has been moved back an hour to a 2100 local time kick-off by the Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP).

If the game, which will have no bearing on the league places with Madrid top and Levante bottom, does go ahead then third-choice goalkeeper Jordi Codina is set to make his debut for Madrid, with Jerzy Dudek having replaced the rested Iker Casillas last weekend.

Levante coach Jose Angel Moreno, whose relegated side have barely trained this week, said on Friday: "The situation against Recreativo (previous strike) saw things resolved in the last hour of Friday, and as such we wait to see what will happen.

"I have in my mind the possible XI to face Madrid if the strike is called off. I have spent all week watching videos of Real Madrid. I am not travelling unprepared."

Damiano Tommasi and Miguel Angel are injured for Levante, while Matthieu Berson remains suspended.