Celta Vigo vs Rayo Vallecano Predictions & Match Preview

Celta Vigo vs Rayo Vallecano predictions and match preview for Saturday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for expert analysis, the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as Rayo travel to Galicia.

Celta Vigo vs Rayo Vallecano Preview

Rayo Vallecano travel to Galicia on Saturday as they aim to start replicating their outstanding home form on the road. They’ve struggled to even get close to doing that so far this season and it won’t be easy here although this is a Celta side that hasn’t been that convincing at home.

They’ve only won 3 matches at Balaidos this term, although 2 of those victories have come in their 2 most recent outings. Chacho Coudet will certainly be hoping that a corner has been turned with a 2-0 success against Osasuna following on from a 3-1 win against Espanyol.

This certainly does feel a bit more like the entertaining Celta side we saw for a large chunk of last season. They’ve been much more threatening in front of goal in recent games and picked up a good 2-2 draw at high-flying Sevilla last time out, although they’d still have left the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan with some regrets having been 2-0 ahead at the break. They’ve no real injury problems any more either following a fortnight break and Celta appear to have a nice platform now to go on a bit of a run and push towards the European places.

Rayo Vallecano are one of the teams they are trying to catch. The Madrid side’s unlikely European ambitions have faded slightly in recent weeks though it should be said. Rayo suffered their first home league defeat of the season against Athletic a fortnight ago while they’ve only taken 1 point from their last 6 away games in LaLiga. That disparity between home and away results has been a theme all season and Andoni Iraola may be considering changes to the way they play on the road.

He won’t want to be too radical though as overall this has been an outstanding season for Rayo and it got even better in midweek. Oscar Trejo’s penalty secured victory in the Copa del Rey at home to Mallorca and sent Rayo into their first Semi-Final in 40 years and Iraola may also have one eye on that tie which commences next week when he selects his team here.

Head to Head

• Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 2 Celta Wins, 2 Rayo Wins, 2 Draws.
• Celta have taken 7 points from their last 3 home games against Rayo, scoring 11 in the process.
• However Rayo have won 6 of the last 10 meetings overall.
• The sides drew 0-0 in Madrid earlier this term.

Team News

Celta have no major injury problems but will monitor the fitness of Renato Tapia, Nestor Araujo and new arrival Orbelin Pineda following their participation in World Cup qualifying in South America this week.

Martin Marquelanz is sidelined for Rayo who have a doubt over Fran Garcia.

Possible Lineups

Celta Vigo vs Rayo Vallecano Predictions

Score Prediction: Celta Vigo 2-0 Rayo Vallecano

With Rayo Vallecano’s current Copa del Rey distractions and away day blues, Celta look the clear favourites here. With what should be their strongest XI, or very close to it, they ought to have enough about them to claim a third straight home win.

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