Preview: Levante vs. Sevilla - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams in need of the points but for very different reasons will lock horns in La Liga on Thursday evening, as Levante welcome Sevilla to Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.

Levante are currently 19th in the table, four points behind 17th-placed Granada on the same number of games (32), while Sevilla sit third, just three points clear of fifth-placed Real Betis.

Match preview

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Levante gave their survival hopes a huge boost on Sunday when they recorded a 4-1 win over Granada, which made it two victories from their last three matches in Spain's top flight.

Dani Gomez, Jose Luis Morales, Mickael Malsa and Roberto Soldado scored the goals for Alessio Lisci's side at the weekend, and the Frogs are now just four points behind 17th-placed Granada in what is a fascinating battle at the bottom of the La Liga table.

Levante have a huge game against rivals Valencia on April 30 before opening May with back-to-back matches against Real Sociedad and Real Madrid, while they will take on relegation rivals Alaves and Rayo Vallecano in their final two games of the campaign.

The Valencia-based outfit have finished 15th, 15th, 12th and 14th in their last four La Liga campaigns and would consider 17th or above to be a successful season considering their current spot in the table.

The Frogs have the second-worst home record in La Liga this season, though, and they will be taking on a Sevilla outfit that have lost just three times on their travels in Spain's top flight in 2021-22.

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Sevilla, meanwhile, will enter this contest off the back of a 3-2 home defeat to league leaders Real Madrid on Sunday evening; Julen Lopetegui's side actually took a two-goal lead in the 25th minute of the contest courtesy of goals from Ivan Rakitic and Erik Lamela but then conceded three second-half goals to lose.

Karim Benzema's winner for Real Madrid came in the 92nd minute, and it was a damaging defeat to Sevilla, who have now only been victorious in one of their last six league matches.

Not too long ago, Los Nervionenses were Los Blancos' closest title rivals, but they are now battling to remain in the Champions League positions, currently sitting third in the table, just three points clear of fifth-placed Real Betis on the same number of matches (32).

Sevilla are level on points with second-placed Barcelona, though, so they could still claim the runners-up spot behind Real Madrid, which would have to go down as a hugely successful campaign.

Lopetegui's team will finish April with a home game against Cadiz before facing Villarreal, Mallorca, Atletico and Athletic Bilbao in May, and it will be fascinating to see where they end up in the table, as Real Sociedad are also firmly in the running for a top-four spot at this late stage of the campaign.

Team News

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Levante will again be without the services of Roger Marti, Martin Caceres, Jorge de Frutos, Carlos Clerc and Shkodran Mustafi through injury for Thursday's contest.

The Frogs did not suffer any fresh issues against Granada, though, and they will also be boosted by the return of Jose Campana following a one-match suspension.

Marc Pubill is pushing to replace Jorge Miramon as the right-sided wing-back, but it could otherwise be the same side that took to the field for the first whistle last time out, with Dani Gomez and Morales, who were both on the scoresheet, playing as the front two in a 5-3-2 formation.

As for Sevilla, Anthony Martial will miss out due to the hamstring problem that he picked up in the clash with Real Madrid at the weekend, which could open the door for Youssef En-Nesyri to play at centre-forward.

Karim Rekik, Fernando and Suso are also still on the sidelines through injury, meaning that it will be largely the same squad that was available for the match with Los Blancos.

Oliver Torres could come into the starting side in place of Alejandro Gomez, while Lucas Ocampos is also expected to return, but Lamela should continue on the right for the away team.

Levante possible starting lineup:

Cardenas; Pubill, Rober, Postigo, Vezo, Son; Radoja, Pepelu, Melero; D Gomez, Morales

Sevilla possible starting lineup:

Bounou; Navas, Kounde, Carlos, Acuna; Rakitic, Jordan; Lamela, Torres, Ocampos; En-Nesyri

We say: Levante 1-2 Sevilla

Levante's recent results will have given them a lot of confidence, but Sevilla are also fighting for the points in order to stay in the top four, and we believe that the visitors will shade a close match on Thursday night.