Rayo Vallecano vs Elche Predictions & Match Preview

Rayo Vallecano vs Elche predictions and match preview for Monday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as the visitors target their first win of the season.

Rayo Vallecano vs Elche Preview

The Monday night game in LaLiga this week comes from Vallecas. It’s a really important one for the visitors with Elche rock bottom and their coach Francisco under pressure to turn their fortunes around. They really need a win here or failing that next Monday at home against Mallorca.

Rayo will be the favourites though having made a relatively strong start, despite some tricky fixtures. They’ve only played two home games so far, losing one and winning one. Their victory over Valencia here three weeks ago was their first on home soil in LaLiga in 2022. They’ll be hoping now they can try to turn Vallecas into a fortress again as was so memorably the case in the first half of last season.

They were involved in an entertaining game last time out, losing 3-2 at San Mames as Andoni Iraola returned to Bilbao. It was an encouraging performance though with Rayo creating opportunities and enjoying a 62% share of possession in the Basque Country against their in-form opponents. They’ll believe a similar level here may be enough against a struggling Elche side.

More than a fortnight has passed since Elche’s last outing, a 3-0 defeat at Barcelona. It could have been much worse in truth and they’d probably have settled for that scoreline when Gonzalo Verdu saw red in just the 14th minute of the game. Elche have conceded 3 or more goals in 4 of their 6 games so far this season with defensive problems a recurring theme.

The international break would have given Francisco a bit of time on the training ground to try to address one or two of their bigger issues. He did a brilliant job last season in guiding this team to a relatively comfortable survival but it feels as though standards have slipped across the pitch this term and their coach will know these next two games are key in terms of both his own future and that of this team.

Team News & Possible Lineups

Rayo Vallecano

Possible XI: Dimitrievski – Garcia, Catena, Lejeune, Balliu – Comesana, Valentin – Alvaro Garcia, Trejo, Isi – Falcao (4-2-3-1)

Coach: Andoni Iraola

Elche

Possible XI: Badia – Clerc, Bigas, Fernandez, Lirola – Guti, Gumbau – Milla, Collado, Morente – Boye (4-2-3-1)

Coach: Francisco

Score Prediction: Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Elche

We may get some kind of a reaction from Elche here and they are certainly a more capable team than we’ve seen so far this season. However Rayo are playing well and look the more settled outfit right now and they are certainly carrying the greater goal threat. A home win looks likely.

PLEASE NOTE – Our LaLiga predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.