Matchday 16 of La Liga will see Valencia take on Rayo Vallecano on December 7 at the Mestalla Stadium. Valencia vs. Rayo Vallecano: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Referee: Jose Luis Munuera Montero (Spain)
Matches – 7 (La Liga, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 37;
Average yellow cards per match – 5.3;
Red cards shown – 0;
Average fouls per match – 23;
Penalties – 43%.
Predicted lineups for Valencia vs. Rayo Vallecano
Valencia (5-4-1): Giorgi Mamardashvili – Dimitri Foulquier, Jose Luis Gaya, Cesar Tárrega, Yarek Gonsiorowski, Cristhian Mosquera – Javier Guerra, Enzo Barrenechea, Diego Lopez, Luis Rioja – Hugo Duro.
Rayo Vallecano (4-4-2): Augusto Batalla – Florian Lejeune, Abdul Mumin, Andrei Rațiu, Pep Chavarria – Oscar Valentin, Isi Palazon, Alvaro Garcia Rivera, Pathé Ciss – Randy Nteka, Adrian Embarba.
Each team's starting lineup is from their last match in this tournament.
Valencia
The team didn't have long to celebrate their second victory in La Liga 2024/25, which they achieved at home against Betis (4-2). In the last round, Valencia visited Mallorca and suffered another defeat, losing 1-2. This marked the club's seventh loss after 13 matches in the current championship. Ruben Baraja's side remains in the relegation zone, trailing the safe 17th place by three points, with two games in hand.
- At least two goals have been scored in 8 of Valencia's last 10 La Liga games.
- The team has not scored more than one goal in 9 of their last 12 home matches in the championship.
- Valencia has not won the second half in 19 of their last 21 La Liga matches (8 draws and 11 losses).
Rayo Vallecano
The Madrid side has lost in their last three rounds, a first since February this year. Inigo Perez's team was defeated away by Sevilla (0-1), and at home by Las Palmas (1-3) and Athletic Bilbao (1-2). This has affected their standings, dropping them to 13th place, just three points above the relegation zone. Notably, Rayo Vallecano's matches average only 2.14 goals, ranking 17th in terms of scoring in La Liga.
- The number "1" has appeared in the final score of Rayo Vallecano's last seven league matches.
- Rayo Vallecano has failed to score in 10 of their last 13 away games in La Liga.
- In 12 of their last 16 away matches in La Liga, the first half ended in a draw.
Valencia vs. Rayo Vallecano: Match Prediction
Valencia urgently needs to start winning as they are stuck among the relegation candidates. They must focus on home matches, where they have collected 8 of their 10 points in the current championship. In their last five home matches in La Liga, Valencia has lost only once, securing victories against mid-table teams Girona and Betis, and drawing with Villarreal and Osasuna. As we can see, Ruben Baraja's team is quite capable of taking points from opponents fighting for European competition spots.
Rayo Vallecano, although they have four wins, can only really highlight their victory over Real Sociedad. Even then, San Sebastian was playing poorly at the start of the season. Additionally, in their last 16 away matches in La Liga, the Madrid team has won only twice (5 draws and 9 losses). Moreover, the head-to-head statistics favor Valencia – in the last 12 meetings, the team has avoided defeat 10 times (3 wins and 7 draws). Notably, at Mestalla, Valencia has not lost to Rayo Vallecano in seven consecutive league encounters (3 wins and 4 draws).
My prediction – Valencia with a handicap (0)
