Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano Predictions & Match Preview

Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano predictions and match preview for Monday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as Rayo visit the Ceramica.

Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano Preview

The Monday night game this week has the potential to be a good one as Villarreal and Rayo Vallecano meet at the Ceramica. Quique Setien’s side have been in good form since moving back to their home having spent the first part of the season in Valencia and they’ll be gunning for three points here.

Despite a rocky start, Villarreal are now higher under Setien than they were when Unai Emery departed for Aston Villa. They are well placed to battle it out with Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid for the final Champions League places and that will most likely be the objective now, although they also have a good shot at winning another European trophy this season in the Conference League.

This will be their 5th league match since the World Cup and their 4th at the Ceramica. They’ve won the previous three, all by single goal margins and they’ve had to dig deep on each occasion. Their winner last time out against Girona came in the 100th minute from the penalty spot with Dani Parejo converting with Gerard Moreno having missed a spot-kick only shortly before. The duo remain vitally important to this Villarreal side and will spearhead their attempts to break down Rayo here.

Rayo Vallecano are a positive side who usually look to press from the front but Andoni Iraola has shown himself to be a flexible coach who is capable of designing an effective gameplan for tough fixtures such as this. Indeed they are unbeaten away to top six opposition this season having picked up good draws at Camp Nou and the Civitas Metropolitano.

Villarreal are quite predictable in that you know exactly how they are going to play so it’ll be interesting to see if Iraola has any tactical surprises in store for us here. The visitors are in the midst of a slight downturn in form overall, having won just 1 of their 5 matches in LaLiga since a memorable 3-2 triumph over defending champions Real Madrid. They head into this one following a 2-0 home defeat against Real Sociedad last weekend.

Team News & Possible Lineups

Villarreal

Possible XI: Reina – Moreno, Torres, Albiol, Foyth – Parejo, Capoue, Baena – Yeremy, Gerard Moreno, Chukwueze (4-3-3)

Coach: Quique Setien

Rayo Vallecano

Possible XI: Dimitrievski – Fran Garcia, Catena, Lejeune, Balliu – Comesana, Unai Lopez – Alvaro Garcia, Trejo, Isi – Camello (4-2-3-1)

Coach: Andoni Iraola

Score Prediction: Villarreal 2-1 Rayo Vallecano

This should be one of the best Monday night games of the season with Rayo capable of coming here and making this a real contest. Villarreal have found a bit of form though and look much more solid across the pitch than they did in the opening weeks of Setien’s reign. They should have the edge over 90 minutes.

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