Levante vs Villarreal Match Preview & Predictions

Levante vs Villarreal match preview and predictions for Sunday’s LaLiga match. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as two sides from the Valencian region meet.

Levante vs Villarreal Preview

There’s a derby clash in the Valencian Community this weekend and with Valencia struggling, this is a meeting of the top two teams in the region right now. Victory for Levante would see them move to 5 points behind Villarreal, who are currently 7th in the table. The hosts need all the points you sense if they are going to stand any chance of making a late push for European qualification.

They come into this one following a 1-0 win at struggling Eibar last time out. Jorge de Frutos, one of the breakthrough acts of this LaLiga season, was on target. There has been some talk linking the 24 year old with a move away this summer and Levante may be tempted to cash in if they do get a big enough offer. José Campaña is perhaps their next biggest asset, but his injury problems in the second half of the season may put off any suitors.

Of course if Levante can kick on and make a late dash for Europe, then they may not be under the same pressure to sell players that many of the smaller clubs in this league may find this summer after over a year of lost revenues. That’s a matter for another day though and they may fancy their chances here against a Villarreal side that has rested key players in recent league games.

That’s because the Yellow Submarine are increasingly starting to prioritise the Europa League. They made it 11 wins out of 12 in that competition on Thursday by seeing off Dinamo Zagreb to set up an intriguing Semi-Final clash with Unai Emery’s former employers’ Arsenal. That tie is in two weeks with three league games to fit in first and it may be the final one of those where we really see Villarreal rest a host of players.

Despite their continental commitments, Villarreal have won 3 of their last 4 in LaLiga to keep themselves on track for a place in Europe again next term. The exception was a 2-1 home defeat to Osasuna last time out but they will travel with confidence here having lost just 3 of their 15 away games in LaLiga this term.

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Head to Head

• Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 2 Levante Wins, 3 Villarreal Wins, 1 Draw.
• Levante have won 4 of their last 5 at home to Villarreal.
• That includes a late 1-0 win in the Copa del Rey earlier this season.
• Villarreal won the reverse league fixture 2-1 at the Ceramica.

Team News

Nemanja Radoja and Nikola Vukcevic are both definitely out while this game may come too soon for Jose Campana.

Vicente Iborra and Pervis Estupinan are both likely to be absent for the away team who may employ some light rotation.

Predicted Levante Starting Lineup:

Fernandez – Clerc, Postigo, Duarte, Coke – Morales, Malsa, Bardhi, De Frutos – Marti, Gomez (4-4-2)

Predicted Villarreal Starting Lineup:

Asenjo – Pedraza, Torres, Albiol, Suarez – Parejo, Capoue, Trigueros – Gerard, Bacca, Pena (4-3-3)

Levante vs Villarreal Predictions

Score Prediction: Levante 1-1 Villarreal

Levante’s home record and Villarreal’s away record is actually identical with 5 wins, 7 draws and 3 defeats in each case. Both sides have been prone to drawing plenty all season and that does look a likely outcome here in what should be a competitive game.

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