Rayo Vallecano vs Girona prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-03-17 15:15.
Any hopes of securing European football are dissipating week on week for Rayo Vallecano, whose slide continued with a 3-0 defeat against Celta Vigo last time out. It’s now five games without a victory in La Liga (LL) for Vallecano, and returning home isn’t necessarily the best place to end that winless run considering they’ve won just one of their last six LL home matches (D3, L2).
That sole victory came against a relegation-threatened AlmerĂa, so the visit of another side not yet safe from the clutches of the drop in the shape of Girona could prove the tonic for a revival. That is perhaps until you see that Vallecano haven’t beaten Girona in three top-flight attempts (D1, L2), and having failed to score in their last three LL outings too, there appears only limited hope of that ending here.
Vallecano’s new-found goal-shy nature will be music to the ears of Girona, who are without an away league clean sheet all season. The fourth-best attack in the league has been able to counteract that somewhat, but their nine points collected on the road this season does remain a bit of a worry and perhaps explains why Girona only hold a four-point buffer to the drop zone ahead of the round.
What better place for Girona boss MĂchel to lengthen that gap than at the home of his former employers, but it hasn’t been plain-sailing for him against Vallecano in the past, failing to win any of his four managerial H2Hs (D1, L3). That includes a 2-2 draw in the reverse, which is in keeping with four of Girona’s last five away league games which have seen them concede at least twice.
Players to watch: Four of the last six LL goals scored by Vallecano players have either been created or netted by Isi Palazón (G2, A2). Girona’s Cristhian Stuani is usually in the thick of the action at Vallecano, registering three goals, three assists and a red card in his last five personal top-flight visits here.
Hot stat: Girona have conceded a league-high six away goals during the opening 15 minutes this season.