Comments, predictions Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano: Lucky victory

Rayo Vallecano vs Villarreal - La Liga gamethread - Villarreal USA

Looking for a win to end a disappointing run, Villarreal host Rayo Vallecano at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Wednesday night in La Liga.

The Yellow Submarine just suffered a defeat at home to Real Betis in the last round, while Los Franjirrojos got a valuable draw against the reigning European champions Real Madrid.

Latest Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano team information

After a tense match against Real Betis last weekend, Villarreal will be without a number of key players due to suspension for accumulating yellow cards, including Baena, Kiko and Dani Parejo.

The Yellow Submarine also cannot have the service of Alfonso Pedraza, who is still recovering from a cruciate ligament injury suffered in May.

In addition, the home team will be without former Arsenal star winger Nicolas Pepe due to a thigh injury. Pepe is not expected to return until early in the new year.

On Rayo Vallecano's side, Pelayo Fernandez will also be absent from the upcoming match due to a hamstring injury and will only be able to return in early 2025.

In attack, Los Franjirrojos continue to face difficulties as Raul de Tomas has not fully recovered from his illness and has had to sit out the last 4 matches.

Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano latest predicted lineup

Villarreal:

Junior; Bernat, Albiol, Bailly, Cardona; Pino, Gueye, Barry, Cabanes; Moreno, Perez

Rayo Vallecano:

Batalla; Ratiu, Lejeune, Mumin, Chavarria; Ciss, Lopez, De Frutos, Palazon, Embarba; Nteka

Latest football commentary Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano

Since their 3-0 win over Deportivo Alaves before the international break, Villarreal have endured a poor run of results in La Liga, with Wednesday's hosts now on a five-game winless run in all competitions, including La Liga and the Copa del Rey, as 2024 draws to a close.

Villarreal suffered their third straight defeat on Sunday afternoon as Real Betis won 2-1 at the Estadio de la Ceramica, despite a late equaliser from Alex Baena for the hosts. Goals from Vitor Roque and Giovani Lo Celso secured all three points for Betis.

Football prediction Villarreal vs Vallecano (03:00, January 31), round 19 La Liga

With two more La Liga games to play before the winter break, Villarreal are currently sixth in the table, one point behind Mallorca in fifth and seven points behind Athletic Bilbao, who occupy the final Champions League top four spot.

After a successful season at Real Betis with 11 goals in 2023-24, Ayoze Perez has become a shining star for Villarreal in the early months of 2024-25, scoring 10 goals and providing 2 assists in 13 matches in all competitions.

As for Rayo Vallecano, since losing to Athletic Bilbao on December 1, the team has gone three consecutive games unbeaten in La Liga and Copa del Rey, winning away at Unionistas de Salamanca and Valencia, before drawing 1-1 with Real Madrid last Saturday night.

Los Franjirrojos led 2-0 after just 36 minutes thanks to goals from Unai Lopez and Abdul Mumin, although the hosts had to equalise in the second half through goals from Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo.

After picking up a valuable point against the reigning Champions League holders last weekend, Rayo Vallecano now sit 13th in La Liga, six points clear of Espanyol in the relegation zone and six points behind hosts Villarreal.

With just six goals conceded in eight away games in La Liga this season, Rayo Vallecano promise to be a tough opponent for Villarreal in this match, with only Atletico Madrid (five goals conceded) and Real Sociedad (two goals conceded) being the teams that have conceded fewer goals than them away from home.

Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the following results for the Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano match: