It’s a huge game this weekend between Villarreal and Rayo Vallecano this weekend in La Liga with the home side now up into fifth and eyeing up a spot in the Champions League following on from Vallecano’s impressive rise back up the ranks.
The Madrid side have had a topsy-turvy time of things in La Liga since earning promotion two seasons ago.
¡Últimos retoques ⚙️! #VillarrealRayo pic.twitter.com/VLFKdEBF91— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) January 27, 2023
¡Últimos retoques ⚙️! #VillarrealRayo pic.twitter.com/VLFKdEBF91
Last campaign, they managed to be as high as fifth in the league around this time in the campaign, but they soon dropped to just above the relegation zone and finished in the bottom half of the table.
Now, however, Vallecano have marched up into ninth after beating Valladolid two weeks ago away from home thanks to a goal from Isi Palazon. The club did lose to Real Sociedad last time out and also tasted defeat at home to Real Betis in a 2-1 loss.
Vallecano have made things worse in what has been a terrible January for them, as they were also beaten by the Segunda Division's Sporting Gijon in the Copa del Rey round of 32 back at the start of the month.
Vallecano also drew 2-2 with Girona in their first game back from the World Cup break, as Palazon scored another goal with Sergio Camello also getting in on the scoresheet. In fact, the club only lost points that day because of two late penalties.
Andoni Iraola's side are now within two points of Betis in sixth and even sit just four points behind their fourth-placed Madrid rivals, Atletico Madrid.
Iraola's side should end up getting closer to the European spots if the form of Osasuna and Athletic Club drops off a bit, but despite the points difference and seven wins so far from 18 games, the inconsistent nature of Vallecano is very worrying.
As for Villarreal, they have been excellent since action returned in Spain. A stunning finish to their game against Girona last weekend means they are up into fifth now thanks to Dani Parejo's penalty in the 90+10th minute of the game.
They've also beaten Real Madrid in the league this January after Yeremy Pino scored before a Gerard Moreno penalty. Villarreal did, however, lose to Real just two weeks later in the Copa del Rey.
Forebet predicts a win here for Villarreal and for the game to see over 2.5 goals, with their form way better than that of Vallecano's in 2023 so far.