Villarreal vs Levante

Villarreal vs Levante Preview

Sunday evening at the Estadio de la Ceramica and Villarreal finally have something to smile about. After a wretched start to the 2026-27 La Liga campaign that had the Yellow Submarine supporters getting very twitchy very quickly, Inigo Perez’s side picked up their first league win last time out, a 3-1 victory over Malaga that stopped the rot and gave everyone at the club a bit of breathing room. Now they need to back it up. Levante arrive in town as the kind of opponents you genuinely want to see on the fixture list when momentum is fragile and confidence is still finding its feet.

This is a game that matters more than the table positions might suggest. Villarreal sat third in La Liga last season — this is a club with real ambitions and real standards — so finding themselves down in 14th after six games, with one win, two draws and three defeats to their name, is not where anyone expected them to be. Levante, sitting just one place below in 15th, are not exactly setting the world alight either. One win, two draws and two defeats for Luis Castro’s side. So yes, both clubs need a result, but the home advantage, the crowd and the sheer desperation to build on last week’s win gives Villarreal the edge in terms of motivation going into this one.

Levante’s week has been disrupted as well, with their midweek fixture against Athletic Bilbao called off at the last minute due to a waterlogged pitch. Whether that works for or against them is debatable — the extra rest could be welcome, but the lack of competitive rhythm is never ideal. They did lose 4-2 to Barcelona before that, so there are defensive questions to answer. This feels like a game that should be setting up nicely for the hosts to push on.

Villarreal vs Levante Form

Let’s not dress it up — Villarreal’s form coming into this was genuinely alarming. A four-game losing run in all competitions before the Malaga result is the kind of sequence that starts rumours and tests patience, especially at a club that was in the top three just a few months ago. The 3-1 win was important not just for the points but for the manner of it — getting three goals on the board, showing a cutting edge that had been absent, and giving Pape Gueye the platform to announce himself with a brace off the bench. That sort of performance gives a squad something to hold onto.

Levante’s recent record is a real mixed bag. Five points from their last four league games sounds decent enough on paper, but when you dig into it, those are draws and a single win rather than anything dominant. The 4-2 defeat to Barcelona was the kind of result where you can give the side a partial pass — losing to Barca is not exactly a scandal — but conceding four goals will concern Castro regardless of the opposition. They finished 16th last season and the early signs suggest they are still very much a side that can be got at, particularly through the middle and in transition.

The form lines point fairly clearly in Villarreal’s direction at home. Yes, they have struggled badly this season, but there is a quality in this squad that one poor month does not erase. The Malaga result looks less like a fluke and more like a team remembering who they are. Levante have not shown enough defensively to suggest they can go to the Ceramica and keep things tight, and if Villarreal can get their front line firing from the off rather than relying on a bench intervention, they have more than enough to see this through.

Villarreal vs Levante Head to Head

The historical record between these two clubs is pretty one-sided in Villarreal’s favour. Of the 36 previous meetings in all competitions, the Yellow Submarine have come out on top in 23 of them, losing just nine times. In the league specifically, Levante have lost six of their last seven against Villarreal, which is the kind of statistic that either motivates you enormously or quietly deflates you in the dressing room before kick-off. The one recent exception was a 2-0 Levante win back in April 2022, so it can be done, but it takes something quite specific going wrong for the hosts.

Home and away records matter here too. Villarreal at the Ceramica against Levante is a different proposition to a neutral venue. The crowd, the familiarity, the short grass that suits their technical players — it all adds up. Levante have not turned up at this ground and dominated for a very long time, and nothing about their current form suggests that changes this weekend.

Villarreal vs Levante Lineups

Villarreal have a couple of notable absences to deal with. Juan Foyth is still out with the Achilles injury that has kept him sidelined, and Santi Comesana is expected to miss out after being forced off during the Malaga win with what sounds like a muscular issue. The interesting selection call is what Perez does with Gueye, who grabbed two goals after coming on as a substitute last week. The expectation is that he comes straight into the starting eleven, which would be the right call — you do not score twice off the bench and then sit back on the bench the following week if there is any sense in the selection room. Alberto Moleiro is likely to continue through the middle, and the rest of the side could well be unchanged given there is rarely a good reason to tamper with something that just worked.

For Levante, Karl Etta Eyong misses out with a thigh problem and Alejandro Primo remains sidelined with a shoulder injury, so Castro is already stretched. Ivan Romero, who scored after coming on against Barcelona, is expected to return to the starting lineup, and Enzo Bardeli should slot back into midfield after presumably being rested or rotated for the Barca game. The likely eleven for both sides has a reasonable amount of shape to it, but Villarreal look the stronger unit on paper when both squads are considered at their available best.

Villarreal vs Levante Tactics

Villarreal under Inigo Perez tend to want to control possession and work the ball through the thirds rather than going direct. The front line, with Moleiro pulling the strings centrally and wide options like Akhomach and Buchanan stretching the pitch, is built for combination play and quick movement in tight spaces. With Gueye now coming into the eleven after those goals off the bench, there is a genuine focal point up top who can hold the ball, bring others into play and make runs in behind. If the service is right, Levante’s back four could have a very uncomfortable afternoon — they showed against Barcelona that they can be opened up, and Villarreal’s attack on a good day is more than capable of doing exactly that.

Levante will likely sit in a mid-block and try to frustrate Villarreal, hit them on the counter through Romero’s movement and look to make the game scrappy and competitive rather than open. Castro knows his side does not have the individual quality to go toe to toe with a Villarreal squad that, whatever their current form, still has serious players throughout. The question is whether Levante can stay compact and disciplined for long enough — but given their defensive record this season and the threat that the Yellow Submarine carry at home, it would be a surprise if they managed to keep a clean sheet. Villarreal at the Ceramica, buoyed by last week’s result, will get chances. The real test is whether they take them early enough to settle any nerves.

Villarreal vs Levante Prediction and Betting Tips

This sets up well for Villarreal to make it back-to-back wins. They are at home, they have the historical record, they have more quality in the squad and they carry the momentum — however modest — of last week’s three-goal performance. Levante arrive with defensive concerns, a couple of key injuries and a recent 4-2 defeat still fresh in the memory. Gueye in the starting eleven adds a dimension that was missing before, and Moleiro pulling the strings behind him gives this attack genuine creativity. A 2-1 Villarreal win feels like the right call — Levante are capable of nicking a goal, as they showed against Barcelona, but the hosts should have enough to see it through and bank the three points.

Back Villarreal to win and both teams to score. The value is there given Levante’s ability to contribute at the other end even in defeat, and Villarreal at home with a point to prove after a dreadful run of form should have the firepower to get themselves in front and stay there. Three points for the Yellow Submarine, a goal for Levante, and a crowd at the Ceramica finally leaving with smiles on their faces.