Rayo Vallecano vs Las Palmas prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-01-19 13:00.
A little more than 60 hours after completing their midweek Copa del Rey match more than 500km away in Girona, Rayo Vallecano are back on home soil hoping to join upcoming opponents Las Palmas in the top half of La Liga standings with their first home league win in more than four months. They began the new calendar year with an important 2-0 victory away to Getafe that saw them end the last round eight points above the relegation spots and nine below the European places, leaving both extremes still within reach.
Vallecano have stumbled continuously throughout the season, neutralising their own defensive capabilities with some scoring deficiencies that became so dire that last roundâs 2-0 win was the first time in eight league outings that they breached the back of the net more than once. Underlined by midfielder Ălvaro GarcĂa being their only player to score more than two goals this league season, theyâre dearly missing a reliable goalscorer at present.
Las Palmas had the week off after losing to second-tier Tenerife in the Copa del Rey earlier in the month, but they promptly put behind them three consecutive competitive losses by bullying Villarreal at home (W 3-0). That result means that the all-important top six remains just four points above them at the start of this round and with the likes of Sociedad and Betis haemorrhaging points higher up the standings of late, obtaining a positive result here could prove vital in order to progress further up the table in the coming weeks.
Standing between them and their first European football since 1977-78 could be their away record, which has improved significantly in recent months with three wins from their last six La Liga away trips (D1, L2). All three of those wins came against clubs currently ranked beneath them in the standings, meaning that they should approach this assignment in a confident manner.
Players to watch: Vallecanoâs hero from last round, Sergio Camello, recorded a match-winning double in a second-tier win against Las Palmas in years gone by. Las Palmas captain Kirian RodrĂguez has now opened the scoring in four league games this season – and the team won on each occasion!
Stat attack: Nine of Las Palmasâ ten away games this league season were either drawn or decided by a one-goal margin.