Preview: Levante vs. Celta Vigo - prediction, team news, lineups

Having both had underwhelming starts to the new season, Levante and Celta Vigo will square off in an important La Liga clash on Tuesday.

With just one point from their first five games, the visitors sit in 18th spot in the La Liga table while their hosts are only three points better off, and are also yet to win.

Match preview

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Levante began the new campaign with back-to-back draws, firstly being held by a 97th-minute Cadiz equaliser, before earning a far more commendable point as Roger Marti, Jose Campana and Rober Pier got on the scoresheet in a 3-3 draw with title-chasing Real Madrid.

Paco Lopez's side were then handed a 1-0 defeat by Real Sociedad before again recording consecutive draws heading into Tuesday's game.

They were again the victims of late drama against newly-promoted Rayo Vallecano, as Sergio Guardiola netted a 92nd-minute equaliser as they look set to see out a 1-0 win, before Jose Luis Morales rescued a point in a 1-1 draw with Elche on Saturday.

After last season's push for a top-half finish eventually collapsed, the Graontas will be desperate to begin climbing the table and stage another push this time around, but they face a Celta Vigo side in a very similar situation.

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The visitors found themselves battling for similar spots with Levante for the majority of last season, but had a far stronger end and eventually secured an eight-placed finish.

However, the new campaign has not started well for Eduardo Coudet's men, as they sit on just one point from five games.

That came from a goalless draw against Osasuna, but Os Celestes have since lost three consecutive games, firstly being beaten 1-0 by Athletic Bilbao before suffering a 5-2 thrashing at the hands of Real Madrid.

They now come into the game on the back of a 2-1 defeat at home to Cadiz, as Santi Mina's 64th-minute goal was not enough to trigger a turnaround, with the visitors leaving with a 2-1 win thanks to first-half goals from Alfonso Espino and Anthony Lozano.

Having immediately dropped into the relegation places, Os Celestes will know that they need to quickly click into gear to avoid a battle at the bottom of the table at the end of the season.

Team News

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Levante have a long injury list to deal with, as attackers Roberto Soldado, Jorge de Frutos and Enis Bardhi will miss out alongside midfielder Jose Campana.

Those losses increase Lopez's reliance on star man Jose Luis Morales, who netted their equaliser last time out.

He will likely be joined in a front two by Dani Gomez, with wing-backs Carlos Clerc and Son also getting forward.

Despite the slow start, Celta Vigo have largely stuck with their established core of players so far, and Coudet should continue to keep faith in the likes of Iago Aspas, Santi Mina, Franco Cervi and Denis Suarez in attack.

They should come in with a clean bill of health, while the manager will have decisions to make over the likes of Nolito and Okay Yokuslu, who will be pushing for spots in the starting XI.

Levante possible starting lineup:
Cardenas; Postigo, Duarte, Vezo; Son, Pepelu, Malsa, Martinez, Clerc; Gomez, Morales

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Dituro; Mallo, Murillo, Fontan, Galan; Tapia; Suarez, Cervi, Nolito; Aspas, Mina

We say: Levante 1-1 Celta Vigo

While Levante have made a better start to the season, the losses to their squad arguably gives an established Celta Vigo XI the advantage, and this could go either way.

We opt for a low-scoring draw, as the sides could cancel each other out in their bids to climb the table.