Valencia vs Rayo Vallecano prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-12-06 17:30.
[p]Valencia manager Rubén Baraja will meet former employers Rayo Vallecano for the first time this season, and for a man whose 13-game tenure in Vallecas was so unsuccessful, he certainly knows how to do well against them. Vallecano are the only club that the 49-year-old has faced at least five times without defeat (W2, D3), and his current Valencia side will be desperate to continue that trend here given their current standing in the relegation zone. [/p]
[p]In his second full season in charge, he’s dragging Valencia through their worst league campaign in nearly 70 years, and his frustrations with the situation boiled over when they lost 2-1 to Mallorca last time out. Baraja angrily blasted the “mentality, character and attitude” of his players and demanded an immediate response at home in this outing, where they do notably have two league wins against clubs with more points than their next opponents.  [/p]
[p]Vallecano will be sensing a great opportunity to win a competitive game away to Valencia for the first time since December 2012 (D5, L3) as such, when a 24-year-old Iñigo Pérez was struggling to break into the Athletic Bilbao first team. The going has been tough for Pérez in his infancy as a football manager as Athletic handed Vallecano their fourth loss (2-1) in the last five rounds of La Liga football (W1). [/p]
[p]It’s been a lack of attacking output that has held Vallecano back this campaign in particular, as they head into this weekend as one of just five clubs to have been held scoreless in the majority of their away trips this La Liga season (W2, D2, L3). That could be problematic then, especially as they also don’t shape up well defensively for this contest either having conceded away to Valencia’s fellow relegation contenders Espanyol (L 2-1) and Valladolid (W 2-1).[/p]
[p]Players to watch: After being rated as the worst player of the match by Flashscore last round, Valencia’s César Tárrega will also be hoping to bounce back at home after scoring in their last two home league games. Vallecano’s Isi Palazón has a surprisingly strong personal record against Valencia, registering two goals and an assist from six appearances whilst the team never conceded more than once. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: 13 of Vallecano’s 14 games this La Liga season produced no more than one first half goal.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]