Preview: Levante vs Elche - prediction, team news, lineups

Elche will be bidding to boost their outside European hopes when they continue their La Liga campaign with a clash against struggling Levante on Friday night.

The visitors are eighth in the La Liga table, eight points off sixth-placed Real Betis, while the home side occupy 19th, six points from the safety of 17th position.

Match preview

Levante have a record of three wins, five draws and 11 defeats from their 19 league matches this season, with a total of 14 points leaving them in 19th spot in the table.

The Frogs, who are the reigning Segunda Division champions, are six points behind 17th-placed Valencia with a game in hand, and their defensive record this season is concerning.

Indeed, Levante have let in 32 goals in their 19 matches, which is the joint-second worst defensive record in the division, but they have actually netted 21 times, which is the most in the bottom five and more than Athletic Bilbao in 10th.

Luis Castro's side will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid, but they have only lost one of their last four in the league, picking up five points in the process.

Levante have the worst home record in La Liga this season, claiming only three points from eight matches, conceding 18 times in the process.

Elche, meanwhile, have a record of five wins, nine draws and six defeats from their 20 league matches this season, with 24 points leaving them in eighth spot in the table.

Eder Sarabia's side are only eight points off the top six, so a European challenge this term is possible, and that would be a remarkable achievement for the promoted outfit.

The Green-striped ones will enter this match off the back of a 2-2 draw with Sevilla, and they are yet to win in 2026, with their last success coming on December 21 against Rayo Vallecano.

Elche have been excellent at home this season, claiming 20 points from 11 matches, but it has been a different story on their travels, failing to win in nine games, suffering five defeats in the process.

Sarabia's team recorded a 2-0 win over Levante in the reverse match earlier this season, but that proved to be their first success against the Frogs since April 2021.

Levante La Liga form:

LLDWDL

Levante form (all competitions):

LLDWDL

Elche La Liga form:

WLWLDD

Elche form (all competitions):

WWLDLD

Team News

Levante will be without the services of Diego Pampin (muscle), Victor Garcia (hamstring), Roger Brugue (knee) and Unai Elgezabal (knee) on Friday due to injury problems.

Meanwhile, Ivan Romero needs to be assessed, with the attacker substituted in the latter stages of the contest with Real Madrid last time out.

There will once again be eyes on in-demand attacker Etta Eyong, with the Cameroon international bidding to add to the six goals and three assists that he has managed in La Liga during the 2025-26 campaign.

Elche, meanwhile, could again be missing Pedro Bigas (knee), John Donald (knock), Hector Fort (shoulder), Rafa Mir (muscle) and Alvaro Nunez (knock) on Friday.

The visitors are once again expected to line up in a back five, while Alvaro Rodriguez should continue in the final third of the field due to the absence of Mir.

David Affengruber's performances this season have caught the eye, with Manchester United said to be among his admirers, and the 24-year-old will again line up in the middle of the Elche defence against Levante.

Levante possible starting lineup:

Ryan; Toljan, Dela, Matturro, Sanchez; Vencedor, Martinez; Tunde, Alvarez, Romero; Eyong

Elche possible starting lineup:

Pena; Josan, Chust, Affengruber, Petrot, Valera; Neto, Aguado, Febas; Diangana, Rodriguez

We say: Levante 1-1 Elche

Elche are enjoying a stronger season than Levante, but Sarabia's side are yet to win on their travels in the league this term. Levante's home record is also incredibly poor, so we have settled on a low-scoring draw on Friday night.

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