Rayo Vallecano vs Valladolid prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-05-03 20:00.
Andoni Iraola will be hoping his Rayo Vallecano side can kick-start their dream of qualifying for Europe for just the second time in their history as they look to bounce back from a 4-0 defeat to Elche. Iraola directly challenged his players to secure continental football earlier in the campaign, however, that defeat to Elche was their third loss from five La Liga (LL) games (W2), casting doubt not only on that target but also on their chances of securing a first top-half finish in a decade.
It has been a worrying run of form for Vallecano, who have in fact managed only a couple of victories in a dozen outings since early February (D5, L5). Those two victories have both come in their last two home games though, including pulling off a huge upset by beating Barcelona 2-1, so they should be confident of making it three league victories on the spin at Estadio de Vallecas for the first time since December 2021.
Looking to stop that from happening are struggling Real Valladolid, although they have a miserable record in H2Hs, winning just two of the last ten (D4, L4). The visitors also suffered a thumping 5-2 defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid on Sunday, meaning they have won only twice in eight league outings since early March (D2, L4), conceding a whopping 21 goals in the process!
Both of those victories have, however, come under new manager Paulo Pezzolano, who has been in charge for five games (D1, L2) and given his side a real chance of staying up after being promoted last season. He will now be desperate to improve the club’s awful away record, which has seen them keep just one clean sheet and pick up only three victories in 16 matches on the road in the league this campaign (D2, L11).
Key battle: Vallecano goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski has kept his joint-most clean sheets against Valladolid, four in six matches (W4, L2). He will be looking to extend that record against visiting striker Cyle Larin, who has netted seven times since joining ‘Pucelle’ in January, but picked up only two wins in seven goalscoring appearances (D1, L4).
Hot stat: Valladolid have the worst LL record this season when conceding the first goal, losing each of their 16 matches when doing so.