The rescheduled matchday 16 La Liga fixture between Levante UD and Villarreal will take place on 18 February at the Ciutat de Valencia. Levante UD vs Villarreal: prediction, betting odds and statistics.
Levante UD
Levante UD have just lost an important home derby against Valencia (0:2). Had the home side won, they would have had a chance to move noticeably closer to the safety of 17th place in the standings, but instead the opposite happened and the club have fallen further behind their rivals. To avoid relegation, they need to make up a seven-point deficit. Valencia have suffered a second straight league defeat, although before that they had lost only once in their previous six matches in this competition (two wins, three draws). It is also worth noting that since the start of the current La Liga campaign, the team have conceded 28 goals in total — the worst record in the division.
- At least two goals have been scored in nine of Levante UD’s previous 10 matches in the Spanish league.
- The Valencians have conceded in 14 of their last 15 home games in this competition.
- The club have won with a (+1.5) handicap in five of their previous seven home matches in La Liga.
Potential Levante UD Lineup (4-2-3-1)*
Mathew Ryan – Nacho Perez, Adri, Matias Moreno, Manuel Sanchez – Kervin Arriaga, Pablo Martinez – Karim Tunde, Carlos Alvarez Rivera, Iker Losada – Ivan Romero.
Defenders Jeremy Toljan and Alan Matturro return from suspension, but midfielder Kervin Arriaga is now serving a ban. Midfielder Roger Brugue is unavailable through injury.
Villarreal
Villarreal’s last La Liga match ended in an away defeat to Getafe (1:2). Villarreal now have just one win from their previous five league games, and in three of those five matches the visitors failed even to draw. Interestingly, despite such results, by the end of last week the team had moved ahead of Atletico Madrid on goal difference. Thanks to that, the club have climbed back into the top three with a game in hand. It is worth noting that this season Villarreal have scored 44 league goals in total, with only Real Madrid (53) and Barcelona (63) netting more.
- The Valencians have failed to keep a clean sheet in eight straight La Liga matches.
- Both teams have scored in five of Villarreal’s last seven matches in this competition.
- At least two goals have been scored in 16 consecutive Villarreal games in La Liga.
Potential Villarreal Lineup (4-4-2)*
Luiz Junior – Santiago Mourino, Alfonso Pedraza, Pau Navarro, Renato Veiga – Tajon Buchanan, Daniel Parejo, Pape Gueye, Nicolas Pepe – Hugo Lopez, Tani Oluwaseyi.
Due to injuries, defenders Juan Foyth and Logan Costa, midfielder Thomas Partey, as well as forwards Gerard Moreno, Alfonso Gonzalez and Pau Cabanes will miss out. Defender Willy Kambwala is a doubt for the match.
Levante UD vs Villarreal: Match Prediction
At one point, Levante UD seemed to be steadying a difficult league position, but the home team have now slowed again and suffered two consecutive defeats. Their unbeaten run in La Liga reached three matches, yet across the last 15 rounds the club have managed just two wins. We should note that the Valencians have the worst home record in the division: since the start of the season they have won only one of their previous 11 matches, collecting just seven points in total. At the same time, it is worth adding that games at Levante UD’s ground are almost never dull, with at least two goals scored in 10 of those 11 fixtures.
Villarreal have also dipped and are going through arguably their toughest spell of the season, but they now have a chance to lift the mood against a fairly comfortable opponent. The away side have avoided defeat in seven of the last nine La Liga meetings with Levante UD, and six of those nine matches ended in wins for Villarreal. Looking at goals, we should note that the two-goal mark was cleared in all nine of those games, with six of them proving high-scoring encounters.
Prediction: Villarreal, double chance + Over 1.5 goals
* For each team, the starting line-up from their previous match in this competition is listed.
