Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano predictions for this Liga Santander clash on Sunday at La Cerámica Stadium. Villarreal can’t afford to miss another game if they don’t want to fall too far away from their chances of qualifying for European competitions, so they have to beat Rayo Vallecano, who have been the surprise package of the season. Read on for our free predictions and betting tips.
Villarreal
The season is not going well for Villarreal, as we are in the 16th matchday and the team from Castellón is still in thirteenth position. It is strange that this team is doing well in the Champions League and at the same time is so inconsistent in the Spanish league.
In seven home games, Villarreal have three wins, two draws and two defeats. They have scored 12 goals and conceded another nine. Despite their poor form, they are a far more reliable team at home than when they are the away team.
Villarreal have scored just three goals in the last five games, which has coincided with the absence due to injury of their best player, Spanish striker Gerard Moreno. Now that he is medically cleared, we are sure that things will go better for Villarreal, at least offensively.
Rayo Vallecano
After winning yet another game, this time against Espanyol, by a score of 1-0, Rayo is still in a privileged position for them, in sixth place. It is incredible that being a promoted team this season and having a lot of economic and financial problems, this team is in such a high position.
While we have commented on how well this team is doing, it is important to say that it has nothing to do with when they play as a home team and when they play as visitors. The difference with when they play at home is so great that of the 27 total points they have won so far, only five of them have been won away from home.
Rayo Vallecano have only won once in their history at La Cerámica stadium, in 2000. They have drawn twice and lost seven times in the other meetings between the two sides.
Despite the fact that both teams are in totally different dynamics, Villarreal is still a very good team, which also recovers very important injured players such as Gerard Moreno. Rayo’s good play is mainly when they play at home, while their play when they are the visitors is similar to that of a low level team. For this reason, we think Villarreal are favourites to win this match.