Preview: Levante vs Atletico Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking to bounce back from a shock home defeat in the Champions League, Atletico Madrid will continue their La Liga campaign with a clash against Levante on Saturday.

Diego Simeone's side are third in the La Liga table, boasting 44 points from their 21 league matches this season, while their foes are 19th, five points from the safety of 17th.

Match preview

Levante have won two, drawn two and lost one of their last five league matches, and they will enter Saturday's game off the back of a 3-2 home success over Elche.

The Frogs remain in the relegation zone, with 17 points from 20 matches leaving them in 19th, but their recent form has certainly given their survival hopes a boost.

Luis Castro's side, who are the reigning Segunda Division champions, are five points behind 17th-placed Getafe, and another win on Saturday would be a standout result.

Finding the back of the net has not been a problem for Levante this season, netting 24 times in their 20 matches, but they have been unable to keep the door closed down the other end, conceding 34, which is the joint-second worst defensive record in 2025-26.

The Frogs suffered a 3-1 defeat to Atletico in the reverse match earlier this season, but their last league meeting at the home of Levante finished 2-2 in October 2021.

Atletico will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League, with the result seeing them drop into 14th position in the overall table.

Simeone's side must now navigate their way through a two-legged playoff against either Club Brugge or Galatasaray, with their opponents set to be confirmed on Friday, in order to be present in the last-16 stage of the competition.

The Red and Whites recorded a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the league last time out, and they have been victorious in four of their last five in La Liga, remaining unbeaten in the process.

Atletico are third in the La Liga table, boasting a record of 13 wins, five draws and three defeats from their 21 matches to collect 44 points.

Simeone's team are not in a title race at this stage, sitting eight points behind the leaders Barcelona, but it could still be a successful end to the season for the capital outfit.

Levante La Liga form:

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Levante form (all competitions):

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Atletico Madrid La Liga form:

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Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

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Team News

Levante will be without the services of Roger Brugue through injury, while Unai Elgezabal, Victor Garcia and Diego Pampin are doubts for this weekend's contest.

Etta Eyong's future remains the subject of much speculation - the Cameroonian will not leave Levante before the end of the January transfer window, but he is set to move on this summer, and the striker will be looking to impress once again against high-quality opposition.

There will also be a spot in an attacking area for Ivan Romero, who has found the back of the net on four occasions in La Liga this season.

As for Atletico, Clement Lenglet has been passed fit, but the visitors will again be without the services of Antoine Griezmann, who has a hamstring injury.

Head coach Simeone is expected to introduce Giuliano Simeone back into his team on Saturday, while the midfield could be freshened with the introduction of Johnny Cardoso.

Julian Alvarez has not found the back of the net in La Liga since the start of November, but the Argentina international will again lead the Atletico attack here.

Levante possible starting lineup:

Ryan; Toljan, De la Fuente, Matturro, Sanchez; Martinez, Raghouber; Tunde, Alvarez, Romero; Eyong

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Llorente, Pubill, Gimenez, Hancko; Simeone, Cardoso, Barrios, Almada; Sorloth, Alvarez

We say: Levante 1-2 Atletico Madrid

Levante have shown a lot of improvement of late, and we are expecting this to be a close match, but Atletico's quality should allow them to record a narrow win.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.