Levante slumped to a third consecutive 2-0 defeat in all competitions as they were soundly beaten by Atletico Madrid to fall five points off the top four.
Juan Ignacio Martinez will be able to recall Juanfran from suspension at left-back, but Michel is banned after picking up his fifth booking of the season at the Calderon so Jose Barkero should return to the starting line-up.
Valladolid continued their fine season with another home victory last weekend as goals from Javi Guerra and Oscar Gonzalez gave them a 2-0 win over Zaragoza.
However, that victory came at a cost as Patrick Ebert has been ruled out for up to a month with a hamstring injury.
Daniel Larsson should then start in the German's place on the right side of midfield with Guerra continuing up front in the continued absence of Manucho.
Prediction
Levante's problem in recent weeks has been scoring goals and Martinez has admitted as much by trying to recruit more help for Obafemi Martins up front as the Nigerian has found the net only once in the past two months.
Moreover they will be coming up against one of the best defences in the league this weekend as La Pucela have conceded just 25 times in 20 games on their return to the league, but Miroslav Djukic's men could have problems creating chances themselves in the absence of Ebert.
This should, therefore, be another tight encounter but the home advantage should be enough to ensure Levante at least maintain their two-point advantage over the visitors in the standings.
