Rayo Vallecano – Getafe : Preview & Prediction
There are still 30 games left until the end of LaLiga Santander (LL) 2022-23, Rayo Vallecano’s second consecutive campaign in the top flight, but the team needs to be more consistent to achieve permanence and perhaps aspire to greater goals. Defeated 3-1 away to newly-promoted UD Almeria last term, Rayo have now won five LL games in which the home side has been the winner, a run that Andoni Iraola’s side will be hoping to extend against Getafe on Friday.
The Vallecano side (10th, G3, E1, P4) maintain a four-point cushion over the relegation zone, which Sevilla occupy with six points, and will be looking to repeat or even surpass the 3-0 win over Getafe in Vallecas more than a year ago, which seems unlikely: La Franja have gone six games without a clean sheet and 32 without scoring more than two goals. “We have paid for our mistakes,” admitted Iraola after the defeat at Almeria, and Rayo cannot afford to make so many defensive lapses if they are to take all three points against another potential relegation rival.
Six places below them in the table, Quique Sánchez Flores’ Getafe (16th, G2, E1, P5) go into the derby needing to get back to winning ways after two home defeats, defeats which, after their wins over Real Sociedad and Osasuna, have brought them closer to the red zone. It was expected that Getafe would lose to Real Madrid (GET 0-1 RM, matchday 8), but the blue and whites have recorded their second lowest score after eight matches in a decade and must react now.
Quique Sánchez Flores, who last May renewed as Getafe coach until 2024, praised the commitment of his players in the match against Madrid, highlighting that his team “held on until the end”. Getafe conceded just one goal against the second-highest scoring team in the current championship, something to be valued considering that the azulón team had conceded three or more goals in each of their four previous defeats in LL 2022-23. With Luis Milla starting for the first time this season against Madrid, Getafe will have a creative midfielder who will surely help create more scoring chances.
Players to watch: For Rayo Vallecano, it could be crucial for Isi Palazón to break his three-game scoreless streak, especially if he does so early on. The franjirrojo side have won both LL games in which Isi has scored before halftime this season. Center-back Gastón Álvarez has already matched the two away goals he scored for Getafe in both 2019 and 2021 during his time in Uruguay, although he has never scored at least three goals in a league campaign.
Standout stat: Getafe have lost ten of their last 15 LL matches in which they have not kept a clean sheet (G1, E4, P10).
Rayo Vallecano – Getafe : Betting Tips
OVER 2.5 GOALS Odds: 2.25
