Levante v Rayo Vallecano

Out-of-form Levante and newly-promoted Rayo Vallecano will lock horns at the Estadi Ciutat de València in a mid-table La Liga fixture.

A three-game winless start to their new La Liga campaign (D2, L1) – which includes a heroic 3-3 draw with Real Madrid at home – stirs the traumatic memories at Levante. The last time they opened a new top-flight season without winning any of their first three matches, they suffered relegation in 2015/16. An encounter against promoted Rayo Vallecano could pave the way for Levante’s surge to the top half of the table, as the ‘Granotes‘ won their last two home top-flight H2Hs by an aggregate score of 6-2, drawing first blood on each occasion. The hosts desperately need to pick up all three points here and bring their second-longest winless 11-match La Liga streak under a single manager (D5, L6). Levante can draw confidence from scoring 2+ goals in each of their last three home league outings, albeit all ended level.

On the other hand, Rayo Vallecano put Granada to the sword last time out, pulling off an eye-catching 4-0 home victory to snap a two-game losing start to their returning La Liga campaign. Scoring first could be paramount, considering that each of their three top-flight matches this term saw the winner on the day register a shutout. However, ‘Los Franjirrojos‘ head into proceedings having failed to win any of their last 11 away La Liga matches (D1, L10), drawing a blank in both league trips this term. Topically, Rayo returned a league-low 11 points on their travels the last time they featured in La Liga, which ultimately saw them shift to Segunda Division. After picking up just one victory across their previous six trips to Levante in all competitions (D1, L4), Vallecano’s hopes of claiming their first top-flight win on the road since January 2019 look far-fetched.