Levante vs Villarreal 24/08/19

24 August 2019

Levante welcome Villarreal to the Estadi Ciutat de València hoping to bounce back after a disappointing start to the new La Liga (LL) season. Notably, none of the previous ten LL H2Hs between these two sides here has ended in a stalemate, with Levante coming out on top only three times across those fixtures (W3, L7).

The hosts have started the new LL season off on the wrong foot having suffered a narrow 1-0 away loss to Alaves in the opening matchday. However, things are quite different when they are at home, as they are unbeaten in their last six LL home games (W2, D4) stretching back into the 2018/19 league season. Notably, while four of those draws ended with the same 2-2 scoreline, both of Levante’s triumphs in that period have seen them score precisely four goals and restrict their rivals to a maximum of one goal per match.

Meanwhile, the visitors have been held to a 4-4 home draw to the returnees, Granada, last time out, conceding three of those four goals beyond the hour mark. It’s been their second consecutive LL draw that has seen both teams score in both halves and Villarreal drop the lead in the final five minutes of the first half. Villarreal’s indifferent away form from the final stage of the 2018/19 LL campaign can be a problem here (W2, D1, L3). While both of their wins in that period ended with the same 1-0 scoreline, all four of their remaining trips during the sequence have featured over 2.5 goals and seen both teams score.