Alaves vs Rayo Vallecano Predictions & Match Preview

Alaves vs Rayo Vallecano predictions and match preview for Saturday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as two bottom eight teams meet.

Alaves vs Rayo Vallecano Preview

Saturday is a very important day at the bottom of LaLiga with two meetings between bottom eight clubs. It doesn’t get any bigger than this for Alaves who are in deep trouble, 7 points from safety heading into this one. Put bluntly, this is a “must win” game for the hosts and if their great escape bid doesn’t start here, it may never get off the ground at all.

They have been something of the specialists when it comes to late escape acts in recent years but you sense this year, they may have already left themselves too much to do. It has been another season of instability off the pitch with Javier Calleja not making it to the turn of the year only for results to get even worse under his replacement José Luis Mendilibar. Julio Velázquez is the latest man to take on the hottest of hotseats but his reign started with a defeat last time out.

Alaves went down 1-0 in a derby at Osasuna with Ante Budimir’s Stoppage Time winner the latest blow to their increasingly slim survival hopes. They didn’t really deserve a point from the game in truth and are on a four game losing streak heading into this one. It’s just one league win in over five months of football since they beat Levante in early November. They may need to win at least four of their final seven games if they are going to stand a chance of staying up and they may not get any better opportunities than this.

No side has picked up fewer away points in LaLiga this season than Rayo Vallecano and that’s a concern for Andoni Iraola given all of his side’s next three games are on the road. Their current 6 point cushion on the drop-zone could be reduced significantly by the end of that period but a rare road win here would all but guarantee their survival.

While they remain winless in LaLiga in 2022, Rayo have continued to show plenty of fight and at times flashes of quality too. That was evident in the closing stages of their match with Valencia on Monday night when they scored an excellent equaliser as Sergi Guardiola produced a clinical finish having been expertly released by the impressive Isi Palazon. Rayo looked the more likely victors in the end and they have drawn 3 of their last 4 in LaLiga to ensure their points tally has continued to tick over.

Head to Head

• Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 2 Alaves Wins, 4 Rayo Wins.
• Rayo Vallecano won 2-0 when the sides met earlier this term.
• They’ve also won on their last 2 visits to Vitoria.
• Alaves haven’t beaten Rayo at home since a 3-0 Segunda Division victory 18 years ago, although there have only been 2 meetings in the Basque Country since then.

Team News

Latest LaLiga Injuries & Suspensions

Possible Lineups

Alaves vs Rayo Vallecano Predictions

Score Prediction: Alaves 2-1 Rayo Vallecano

Alaves simply have to find a way to win this match and the coaching change may just offer a slight boost. They do have form when it comes to finding key home wins late in the season. It may not be enough to save them this term but the experience should still stand them in good stead and they may just edge out poor travellers Rayo here to claim a much needed victory.

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