Cultural Leonesa
- Cultural Leonesa are mid-table in the Segunda División in 2025 - 26 but have been in mixed form this season.
- Cultural have found a good balance under José Ángel ‘Cuco’ Ziganda, who has led them to three wins and two defeats in their last five competitive games.
- Ziganda has made Cultural a solid, compact unit that can counter-attack with pace and control the game through the wide areas and transitions.
Levante
- Levante are languishing in the LaLiga relegation zone with just 9 points from 14 - 15 matches.
- Levante are in real disarray after sacking coach Julián Calero at the end of November 2025 and appointing interim co-coaches Álvaro del Moral and Vicente Iborra in his place.
- The club have suffered four defeats in their last five competitive matches, with their only win in that run a 1 - 0 Copa del Rey victory over CD Cieza.
Head-to-Head
This is the first ever official meeting between the clubs, but Paco Cortés, on loan at Cultural from Levante, has impressed in the Copa del Rey.
Key Players
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Cultural Leonesa:
- Édgar Badía is an experienced, calm presence in goal and Lucas Ribeiro has developed into an excellent attacking weapon, contributing goals and late-game impact in both league and cup.
- Manu Justo is Cultural’s go-to scorer, delivering in big wins and providing a consistent threat.
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Levante:
- Roger Brugué and Unai Vencedor tend to be Levante’s biggest threats on the flanks, getting into transitions and on set-pieces, but Goduine Koyalipou, who scored the only goal in the Cieza cup game, looks their main scoring threat.
- Backing Mathew Ryan to make a few saves from close range looks good as he has made key saves in recent LaLiga fixtures and is Levante’s most experienced and reliable keeper.
Betting Insights
- The bookmakers have made Levante very slight favorites at 2.97, but there is enough value in the home team at 2.32 to make a play on the draw at 3.0 our main bet in this clash.
- The under 2.5 goals market is also heavily favored at 1.57, which makes sense given the tactical natures of both teams.
Prediction
- The draw looks a big runner here as both sides are not entirely convincing in their respective divisions, although Cultural have the cup momentum and home-field advantage to come through with a narrow upset in the full 90 minutes.
- The Estadio Reino de León should be cold and intense for the occasion as the fans dream of another cup upset against a LaLiga team.
- But the visitors cannot afford to prioritise this game as they need to get back to winning ways in the league and they are led by interim coaches.
- They may need to play well to avoid defeat as Cultural have enough quality to hurt them, while the momentum of the cup can carry them to a narrow victory in this match.
