After a slow start to the La Liga season, Levante will go in search of their first win of the campaign upon their return to league action on Saturday, when they play host to newly-promoted Rayo Vallecano.

The hosts collected just two points from their opening three games and will hope to come back refreshed from the international break, while their visitors rounded off the first round of games with a 4-0 thrashing of Granada.

Match preview

Levante impressed last season, consistently batting for a top-10 finish, but a disappointing final run saw Paco Lopez's men eventually drop to a somewhat underwhelming 14th-placed finish.

They would have headed into the new season with the hopes of establishing themselves in the top half, but were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw on the opening day by Cadiz, as Alfonso Espino rescued a point in the 97th minute for their opponents after Jose Luis Morales's first-half opener.

The Granotes followed that up with a more impressive point in a dramatic clash with title-chasing Real Madrid, having come from behind to lead 2-1 thanks to goals from Roger Marti and Jose Campana.

Vinicius Junior drew Los Blancos level in the 73rd minute, but Rober Pier put Levante back ahead before Vinicius netted another equaliser with five minutes to go, forcing Lopez's men to settle for a point after looking set to topple the Spanish giants.

In their latest outing, before the recent international break, the Granotes made the tough trip to Real Sociedad, and were handed their first defeat of the season as Ander Barrenetxea netted the only goal of the game for the hosts, and they will now return to action with the hopes of putting their first three-point haul on the board at the fourth time of asking.

They take on a Rayo Vallecano side who got off the mark prior to the international break, after suffering two defeats at the beginning of the campaign.

Saturday's visitors eventually earned a place in the second-tier playoffs last season, and a 3-2 aggregate win over Girona in the final saw them bounce back to the top flight.

They faced a particularly difficult start with a trip to Sevilla, and Andoni Iraola's side were handed a 3-0 defeat as Youssef En-Nesyri opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the first half before Erik Lamela netted a brace off the bench to put the game out of sight.

Los Vallecanos' schedule did not get any easier, as they followed that with a trip to Real Sociedad, and a 68th-minute penalty converted by Mikel Oyarzabal saw them fall to a 1-0 defeat on the road.

However, Iraola's side managed to put their first points on the board before the international break, thanks to a dominant 4-0 victory over Granada.

Alvaro Garcia put them ahead inside the first five minutes, and goals from Oscar Trejo and Randy Nteka saw them head into the break with a comfortable three-goal lead, before Santiago Comesana capped off an impressive showing with a goal on the hour mark.

Having toppled last season's ninth-placed side, Rayo Vallecano will come into Saturday's game with a renewed sense of confidence, and will look to make it back-to-back victories either side of the break.

Team News

Levante still have several injury concerns to deal with, including experienced forward Roberto Soldado, who continues a spell on the sidelines.

More worryingly, key winger Jorge De Frutos will likely miss out for the remainder of the month through a knee injury, with Leonardo Campana and Enis Bardhi expected to line up on the flanks in his absence.

Sergio Postigo, Dani Gomez and Alex Blesa are also doubts, having missed time before the international break.

First-choice goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez should return to the starting XI after he served a suspension last time out, with Dani Cardenas deputising for the trip to Real Sociedad.

Rayo Vallecano should come in with a clean bill of health, although star signing Radamel Falcao is very unlikely to make his debut after featuring for Colombia during the international break.

That should certainly see Randy Nteka keep his place in attack, having found then net in their eye-catching victory before the break.

Oscar Trejo and Alvaro Garcia also got on the scoresheet in that game and will again play key roles going forward on Saturday.

Levante possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Miramon, Vezo, Pier, Clerc; Bardhi, Melero, Radoja, Campana; Morales, Marti

Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Balliu, Saveljich, Catena, Garcia; Ciss, Comesanu; Merquelanz, Trejo, Garcia; Nteka

We say: Levante 1-0 Rayo Vallecano

Despite their tough start and the visitors' eye-catching victory before the international break, Levante still come into Saturday's game as favourites, and we back them to get over the line.

With a clean slate and a good chance to bounce back, Lopez's men should have enough to scrape past the newly-promoted side and earn a three-point haul.

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