Europa League hopefuls Getafe will be aiming to end a poor run of form in La Liga when they travel to Levante for the final day of the 2019-20 campaign.
In contrast, Levante currently occupy 12th spot in the table and realistically have little to play for heading into Sunday's clash.
Match preview
© Reuters
Levante managed to end a four-game winless streak in the Spanish top flight last time out, as Paco Lopez's men intensified Celta Vigo's relegation troubles with a 3-2 victory over the Sky Blues in midweek.
A mid-table finish was arguably the most realistic aim that Levante could have hoped for at the start of the campaign, and Lopez's side have confirmed their 12th-placed standing before the final day of the season.
Indeed, Levante cannot rise any higher or drop any lower down the table on Sunday, and Lopez's men can take pride in knowing that they have improved on their 15th-placed finishes of the last two campaigns.
Levante have only managed to amass one win from their last six on home soil, however, and they were taught a footballing lesson by Getafe in a 4-0 drubbing earlier in the campaign.
© Reuters
Getafe were looking on course for a top-four finish in the first half of the season, but Jose Bordalas's side have now drifted out of contention and their Europa League spot is in serious jeopardy ahead of the weekend.
Despite an incredibly strong start to the campaign where Getafe only lost four times before the turn of the year, the European contenders have only mustered two wins from their last 14 in the top tier.
Getafe's current seventh-placed standing would be enough for a route into the Europa League qualifying rounds, but Valencia and Granada are only one point behind and ready to pounce on any more slip-ups from Bordalas's men.
Getafe simply need to win to book their spot in the Europa League, and they could still break into the top six with a victory depending on Villarreal's and Real Sociedad's results this weekend.
Bordalas's side will have to end a five-game winless run on the road to secure qualification into Europe, although Getafe have failed to score in their last three away outings and they were comfortably put to the sword by Atletico Madrid on Thursday evening.
Levante La Liga form: WDDLLW
Getafe La Liga form: WLDLDL
Team News
© Reuters
Levante's Jorge Miramon is suspended owing to the red card he was shown against Celta Vigo, meaning Coke should deputise at right-back.
Ivan Lopez remains in the medical room with a knee injury, while Pablo Martinez is said to be struggling for match fitness and may be forced to miss out as well.
The versatile Jose Luis Morales will be hopeful of coming back into the starting lineup, but the strike partnership of Borja Mayoral and Roger Marti worked well against Celta and may be trusted again here.
Getafe also have a suspension of their own to deal with, as Allan-Romeo Nyom was given his marching orders in the dying embers of the defeat to Atletico.
The 32-year-old had actually just returned from a previous red card suspension for the midweek game, and Filip Manojlovic is also out with a back problem.
Bordalas may opt to stick with a three-at-the-back formation again, and Angel Rodriguez will be hoping to earn a recall in attack for the European hopefuls.
Levante possible starting lineup:
Vegas; Coke, Vezo, Postigo, Clerc; Rochina, Campana, Vukcevic, Bardhi; Mayoral, Marti
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Cabaco, Timor, Dakonam; Jason, Maksimovic, Fajr, Arambarri, Cucurella; Rodriguez, Mata
We say: Levante 0-1 Getafe
Getafe must come away with all three points to ensure that they have something to show for their disappointing second half of the season. Levante's campaign is all but over and there is nothing but pride at stake for the hosts, so we are backing Getafe to record a narrow victory and book their spot in Europe.
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Getafe win with a probability of 43.21%. A win for Levante had a probability of 28.7% and a draw had a probability of 28.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Getafe win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.13%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (8.46%) and 1-2 (8.42%). The likeliest Levante win was 1-0 (10.14%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.06%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 10.1% likelihood.
