Espanyol vs Levante prediction 16.08.2026 | La Liga

Espanyol return to competitive action after a decent run of form in their pre-season preparations. The Barcelona-based club picked up two wins and three draws before a 3:1 defeat at Coventry last weekend. 

Roberto Fernandez gave the Catalans an early lead before the Championship side completed a second-half turnaround.

Manolo Gonzalez’s side had claimed entertaining away draws against Burnley (2:2) and Middlesbrough (3:3) before bringing their tour of England to a conclusion with defeat against the Sky Blues. 

Espanyol enjoyed an encouraging end to last season, winning three of their final four La Liga matches. Before that winning sequence, Los Periquitos had endured a miserable 18-game winless run.

The hosts eventually finished the season in 13th place after collecting 47 points from 38 games, four points above the relegation zone.

Head coach Gonzalez has two expected absentees this weekend. Kike Garcia and Javi Puado are set to miss the league opener through injury.

Summer signing Unai Nunez made his debut against Coventry and could earn his first competitive start on Sunday.

Levante make the trip to Barcelona after enjoying a productive pre-season campaign.

The visitors claimed four victories in six friendlies, beating Leganes, Al-Qadsiah, Albacete and Castellon. Their only defeats came against Sheffield United and Villarreal.

Ivan Romero scored twice in Levante’s 3:1 win against Castellon last weekend and is likely to lead the visitors’ attack at RCDE Stadium.

Levante narrowly avoided relegation last season, finishing just one point above the bottom three after collecting 41 points from 38 matches. The visitors found some decent form in the final weeks of the campaign, picking up six wins in their last ten games of the campaign. 

Head coach Castro has several new faces available this weekend. Summer signings Aissa Mandi, Hugo Sotelo and Enzo Bardeli are all in contention to start against Espanyol,

Roger Brugue is unavailable due to suspension.