Rayo Vallecano will be looking to extend their 100% start to the La Liga season when Atletico Madrid visit Campo de Futbol de Vallecas on Monday night.
Thanks to back-to-back wins, Rayo Vallecano find themselves second in the table after two matches, behind Real Madrid and ahead of Valencia.
⏱ 77' | Betis 0⃣-0⃣ AtletiHermoso's header was saved by the keeper. • #AúpaAtleti • #RealBetisAtleti • #LaLigaHighlights • pic.twitter.com/p6DeQNqpET— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) August 20, 2023
⏱ 77' | Betis 0⃣-0⃣ AtletiHermoso's header was saved by the keeper. • #AúpaAtleti • #RealBetisAtleti • #LaLigaHighlights • pic.twitter.com/p6DeQNqpET
Atletico Madrid also remain unbeaten this term, having taken four points from a possible six, although they sit two points shy of Monday’s opponents.
Rayo Vallecano kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Almeria, despite conceding 19 shots while seeing just 39% of the ball.
Last time out, Rayo Vallecano claimed another 2-0 win against Granada, scoring twice in the final 15 minutes to maintain their winning start to the new campaign.
Not only have Rayo Vallecano scored two goals in each of their opening matches this term, but they have also kept a couple of clean sheets.
It is worth noting, however, that both teams have scored in each of Rayo Vallecano’s last seven home league games, meaning their clean-sheet streak will likely end on Monday.
On the flip side, Atletico Madrid secured a 3-1 victory over Granada in their first match, courtesy of goals from Alvaro Morata, Memphis Depay and Marcos Llorente.
Last weekend, Diego Simeone’s side played out a goalless draw with Real Betis, managing just five shots and one attempt on target.
In fact, Betis racked up 14 shots without registering a single attempt on target, meaning Atletico notched the game’s sole shot on goal.
Thanks to a strong end to the previous campaign, Atletico Madrid have now lost just two of their last 20 matches in La Liga.
Head-to-head: Rayo Vallecano have failed to win any of their last 14 meetings with Atletico Madrid across all competitions, suffering 11 defeats in the process.
On top of that, Atletico have won seven of their previous eight matches against Rayo Vallecano, keeping six clean sheets along the way.
Team news: Rayo Vallecano look set to be without Andres Martin for the foreseeable future as the 24-year-old forward continues to recover from a pre-season injury.
Atletico, on the other hand, have Angel Correa, Jose Maria Gimenez, Joao Flex, Koke, Reinildo Mandava and Vitolo sidelined through injury.
Despite Atletico’s impressive record in this fixture in recent years, Rayo Vallecano will be confident of maintaining their impressive start to the season.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid will play out a low-scoring stalemate on Monday.