La Liga: Real Madrid Out to Crush Rayo Vallecano’s Morale

Rayo Vallecano vs Real Madrid

Rayo Vallecano have slipped considerably following their hot start to this season and they’re in for another big challenge when La Liga pacesetters Real Madrid visit town.

At one point, they were undefeated at home and contending for a spot in Europe but now they’ve fallen to 11^th in the standings with 31 points.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, have stayed on top of the pack with 57 points. Los Blancos got back on the winning track last Sunday and they’re eager to add more points to fully confirm their second La Liga title in the last three seasons.

The pre-match SBOTOP betting odds see this as another winnable game for Real Madrid, but they must be wary about Rayo Vallecano since the hosts are to play with nothing to lose.

With another fun game in the cards, let’s take a glimpse on what’s to come through today’s match preview. 

Talking Points

Rayo Vallecano remain winless for 2022

The Vallecans’ strong start was fun while it lasted and now they’re facing more questions than answers. Exacerbated by their four-game skid, Rayo Vallecano’s European bid will remain a pipe dream for now.

A key reason to their lacklustre La Liga 2022 results is because of their lack of cutting edge in the final third since their main protagonists can’t seem to find their shooting boots since late December.

Alvaro Garcia Rivera and Radamel Falcao are held goalless during their losing streak and that has to change come Saturday night. They have accounted for 10 goals and two assists so far this season.

Other than those two, Andoni Iraola is bereft of consistent attacking options that can counter Los Blancos’ firepower. The closest third option that they have is Randy Nteka with three goals.

The 24-year-old Frenchman isn’t a finished product at this point of his career. But there’s no doubt that he offers huge upside since he has been a subject of interest from certain European clubs.

A healthy Karim Benzema is the difference for Real Madrid

Karim Benzema is undoubtedly the engine that runs Real Madrid’s machine and the timing of his return couldn’t come at a better time.

The Frenchman made huge impact in their previous league game against Alaves as he had a hand in all of their three goals by dishing two assists to Marco Asensio and Vinicius Junior before scoring one for himself in added time.

He definitely needed that performance especially after going incognito in their 1-0 Champions League first-leg loss against PSG four days prior.

Carlo Ancelotti can only hope that his talismanic striker won’t pick up any knocks in these next few weeks since he’ll play a big role both in their La Liga and Champions League campaigns.

Other than Benzema, Real Madrid’s midfield is going to be on top of Rayo Vallecano’s scouting list, especially since Toni Kroos, Eduardo Camavinga, and Casemiro dominated in their last encounter.

History

Real Madrid have owned Rayo Vallecano here in La Liga. In their last 21 league meetings, Los Blancos have only lost once (W19, D1) and they’ve had an average of 2.91 goals per game in the said span.

Since the return of Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid have only lost one of their last 15 La Liga matches against newly-promoted sides this term (W13, D1). The only defeat came against Espanyol last October 2021 (2-1).

They are winless in their last two away league games, though, as they’ve failed to scored in both of those matches. They were held to a goalless draw by Villarreal last February and they were beaten by Getafe in January.

Their reverse fixture against Rayo Vallecano took place in November where Real Madrid jumped to a two-goal lead through first half goals from Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema. Radamel Falcao prevented a clean sheet by scoring the consolation goal in the second half.

Betting Tip

Real Madrid are the favoured side to win by the La Liga 2022 odds. Los Blancos are priced to win 1.71, while a victory for Rayo Vallecano is installed at 4.40 and chances for a draw is at 3.90 in the 1X2 market.

It also helps that Real Madrid don’t have injury problems to deal with as of this writing, although we expect Carlo Ancelotti to rotate his side given their busy schedule.

Whether Ancelotti fields his strongest starting XI or not, Los Blancos should have no trouble in picking up all three points, especially if they’ll be able to replicate their performance during their reverse fixture.

 

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