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

Villarreal will be aiming to post a seventh straight victory in Spain's top flight when they continue their campaign with a clash against an out-of-form Levante outfit on Sunday.

The Yellow Submarine are third in the La Liga table, five points behind the leaders Barcelona with a game in hand, while the hosts are bottom of the division on nine points.

Match preview

Levante started the season well, but it has been a difficult few weeks for the Frogs, who were promoted back to La Liga for the 2025-26 campaign courtesy of their Segunda Division title success last term.

Julian Calero was sacked as head coach at the end of November, with Alvaro del Moral currently in charge of the La Liga outfit on an interim basis, and he has already managed to secure a win, triumphing 1-0 against Ciudad Cieza in the Copa del Rey earlier this month.

Levante were beaten 2-0 by Osasuna in La Liga last time out, though, which proved to be a fifth straight loss at this level of football.

The Segunda Division champions have a record of two wins, three draws and 10 defeats from their 15 league matches this season to collect nine points, which has left them bottom of the division, five points behind Mallorca in 17th.

Levante actually beat Villarreal 2-0 when the two sides last locked horns in April 2022, but four of their last six fixtures in all competitions have been won by the Yellow Submarine.

Villarreal's La Liga form is extraordinary, winning each of their last six games in the competition against Valencia, Rayo Vallecano, Espanyol, Mallorca, Real Sociedad and Getafe.

Marcelino's side are very much in the title argument at this stage of proceedings, having picked up 35 points from their 15 matches, which has left them third in the table, one point behind second-placed Real Madrid and five from the leaders Barcelona, and the Yellow Submarine have played a game fewer than both of those sides.

Villarreal have the best defensive record in Spain's top flight this season, meanwhile, only conceding 13 times, so their struggles in the Champions League are somewhat of a mystery.

Indeed, Marcelino's team will enter this match off the back of a 3-2 home loss to Copenhagen in Europe, and they are currently down in 35th spot in the overall table, picking up just one point from six matches in the league stage.

Villarreal have three more matches before the end of 2025, including a huge home league fixture against Barcelona on December 21, while they will tackle Racing Santander in the Copa del Rey on December 17.

Levante La Liga form:

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Levante form (all competitions):

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Villarreal La Liga form:

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Villarreal form (all competitions):

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Team News

Levante will once again be missing Pablo Martinez, Adrian Dela, Matias Moreno and Carlos Espi due to an ankle injury, while checks need to be made on Unai Elgezabal (knee) and Adrian de la Fuente (muscle).

The home side will be looking to their front two for inspiration this weekend, as Ivan Romero and Etta Eyong are both having strong campaigns, with the former managing four goals in all competitions, while the latter has five.

There are not expected to be any surprises in the Levante team on Sunday, with Roger Brugue in line for another start in a wide area.

As for Villarreal, Pape Gueye is available again after serving a suspension in the team's last league match, but Pau Cabanes (knee), Logan Costa (knee) and Willy Kambwala (hamstring) remain on the sidelines.

Juan Foyth will be back in the side, having missed the Copenhagen clash due to a European suspension, but Gerard Moreno (muscle), Dani Parejo (muscle), Thomas Partey (muscle) and Santiago Mourino (muscle) remain doubts.

Ayoze Perez dropped down to the bench for the Champions League clash last time out, but the Spaniard is expected to return to the starting team this weekend.

Levante possible starting lineup:

Ryan; Toljan, Matturro, Cabello, Sanchez; Alvarez, Arriaga, Vencedor, Brugue; Romero, Eyong

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

Junior; Navarro, Foyth, Veiga, Cardona; Buchanan, Gueye, Comesana, Moleiro; Perez, Mikautadze

We say: Levante 1-2 Villarreal

Levante's attacking qualities lead us to predict a goal for the home side on Sunday, but Villarreal are absolutely flying in the league at the moment, and we are expecting the Yellow Submarine to secure yet another three points here.

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