Levante's search for their first victory of the 2021-22 La Liga campaign will continue on Saturday when they welcome Mallorca to Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.
The home side are currently bottom of the table, having picked up just eight points from their opening 19 matches, while Mallorca occupy 15th, just four points clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Levante suffered their fourth straight defeat in all competitions on January 3, with Villarreal running out 5-0 winners in their La Liga contest, meaning that the Valencia-based outfit are still searching for their first league victory of the campaign.
A record of eight draws and 11 defeats from 19 matches has left Alessio Lisci's side bottom of the table on eight points, already eight points from the safety of 17th position.
There is still plenty of football to be played before the end of the season, but their position in the division is a real concern, although they now have two huge home fixtures against Mallorca and Cadiz, and victories in both could potentially turn their campaign around.
The Frogs have finished 15th, 15th, 12th and 14th in La Liga since returning to the top level in 2017, but they face a real battle to avoid relegation this season.
Levante have also only won one of their last four La Liga matches against Mallorca and have lost the last two, including a 1-0 defeat in the reverse match earlier this season.
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Mallorca, meanwhile, sit 15th in the table, boasting 20 points from their opening 19 matches, which has left them four points clear of the relegation zone heading into the next set of fixtures.
The Pirates are bidding to secure back-to-back seasons at the top level for the first time since 2013, having returned to La Liga for the current campaign by finishing second in the 2020-21 Segunda Division.
Mallorca were victorious in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, recording a 2-1 win over Eibar, but they have lost their last two in the league against Granada and Barcelona.
Luis Garcia's side managed to record a 2-1 victory away to the champions Atletico Madrid on December 4, though, and are certainly capable of picking up positive results on their travels.
Goals have been hard to find this term, though, having struck just 17 times in their opening 19 matches of the 2021-22 La Liga campaign, which is the fourth-worst record in the division.
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Team News
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Levante were knocked out of the Copa del Rey in the middle of December so have not been in action since suffering a 5-0 defeat to Villarreal on January 3.
Head coach Lisci will make changes from the side that started against the Yellow Submarine, with Jose Luis Morales potentially returning if he can post a negative COVID-19 test in time.
Shkodran Mustafi is again absent through injury, while Carlos Clerc is suspended, but Roberto Soldado and Pepelu should both be back in the squad, having served suspensions last time out.
As for Mallorca, a number of first-team players are expected to return following positive coronavirus tests, although Takefusa Kubo and Lee Kang-in remain doubts for the visitors.
Antonio Raillo and Matthew Hoppe are still absent through injury, while Dani Rodriguez will miss Saturday's contest through suspension.
There will be wholesale changes from the side that started against Eibar in the Copa del Rey, with Angel Rodriguez, Martin Valjent, Pablo Maffeo, Jaume Costa and Manolo Reina among those expected to return.
Levante possible starting lineup:
Cardenas; Son, Vezo, Duarte, Franquesa; Campana, Radoja; De Frutos, Bardhi, Morales; Marti
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Reina; Maffeo, Russo, Gaya, Costa; Galarreta, Battaglia; Mboula, Sanchez, Ndiaye; Angel
We say: Levante 1-1 Mallorca
Levante will view this match as the ideal chance to put three points on the board, but Mallorca will certainly be thinking the same due to the home side's struggles. It should be a close contest this weekend, as there is not too much in terms of quality between the two teams, and we are predicting a low-scoring draw.
Top tip
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 Mallorca win with a probability of 41.23%. A win for Levante had a probability of 30.14% and a draw had a probability of 28.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Mallorca win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.14%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.13%) and 0-2 (8.08%). The likeliest Levante win was 1-0 (10.76%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.22%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 5.4% likelihood.
