Bosnia And Herzegovina
Czech Republic
Hungary
Indonesia
South Africa
South Korea
United Arab Emirates

Rayo Vallecanovs.Osasuna

sportsmole.co.uk, 15 September 2024, 00:12
Rayo Vallecano will try to end a three-game winless run when they play host to Osasuna in Monday's La Liga fixture.

Meanwhile, the visitors will be targeting a second straight victory after beating Celta Vigo in their final outing before the international break.

Match preview

Inigo Perez has experienced a mixed start to his first full season as Rayo boss, having seen his side win one, draw one and lose two of their opening four matches.

Rayo kicked off the campaign with a narrow 2-1 away victory over Real Sociedad, before they had to settle for a goalless draw in their away meeting with Getafe.

Los Franjirrojos have been unable to add to their points tally since their first two matches after falling to a 2-1 defeat in their meetings with Barcelona and Espanyol despite taking the lead in both matches.

Perez will be concerned by the fact his team have conceded three of their five goals in the final 15 minutes of matches, highlighting an area for improvement if they are to start picking up points with regularity.

With Rayo keen to return to winning ways, they may be able to draw inspiration from the fact they have won their last two home meetings against Osasuna, including a 2-1 victory in April when they scored two late goals to win from a losing position.

Osasuna head coach Vicente Moreno would have been fully aware of the importance of making a positive start following his dismissal as Almeria boss after the first seven games of last season.

Fortunately for Moreno, he has experienced a better start to the 2024-25 campaign, having seen his side take seven points from their opening four matches.

Osasuna kicked off the campaign with a 1-1 draw against newly-promoted Leganes, before they recorded a 1-0 victory over a Mallorca side coached by Moreno's predecessor Jagoba Arrasate.

After being stopped in their tracks by a heavy 4-0 away defeat to Girona, Osasuna provided a positive response in their outing before the international break, clinching a 3-2 home win over Celta Vigo thanks to a debut goal for Enzo Boyomo, an own goal and an Abel Bretones effort.

Having played three of their first four matches at El Sadar, Los Rojillos will now head to the capital for Monday's meeting with Rayo at Estadio de Vallecas, where they will attempt to claim their first head-to-head away win since recording a 3-0 victory in February 2022.

Rayo Vallecano La Liga form:

W

D

L

L

Osasuna La Liga form:

D

W

L

W

Team News

Rayo defender Alfonso Espino has been ruled out for around two months with an injury he sustained in the defeat to Espanyol.

Pep Chavarria replaced Espino in the 35th minute at the RCDE Stadium Stadium, and is now set to be given a run of games on the left side of defence.

The hosts are also without the services of midfielder Diego Mendez, while defender Aridane Hernandez is a doubt.

James Rodriguez is expected to feature in the matchday squad, and there is a possibility that he could come off the bench to make his Rayo debut and first La Liga appearance.

As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon the midfield duo of Kike Barja and Iker Munoz due to knee and foot injuries respectively.

Iker Benito is struggling with a hamstring issue and is a doubt for Monday's fixture, while there is also uncertainty surrounding the availability of Ante Budemir, who picked up a muscle problem while on international duty.

If the Croatia striker is unable to start, Moreno may present Raul Garcia with the chance to make his first start of the season.

Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:

Cardenas; Ratiu, Lejeune, Mumin, Chavarria; Valentina, Lopez; De Frutos, Palazon, Garcia; Camello

Osasuna possible starting lineup:

Herrera; Areso, Catena, Boyomo, Bretons; Torro, Moncayola; Ru. Garcia, Oroz; Zaragoza; Ra. Garcia

We say: Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Osasuna

Osasuna may have avoided defeat in three of their first four league matches, but that solitary loss did take place in their only away game of the season.

Previews by email

Top News

16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid will be bidding to book their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League when they welcome Manchester City to Bernabeu for the second leg of their playoff clash on Wednesday night. 16 February 2025 talksport.com The Premier League has two mouthwatering games on Sunday and talkSPORT has all the latest. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Taking a slender lead to San Siro, Feyenoord endeavour to finish the job on AC Milan when they reconvene for Tuesday's Champions League playoff second leg. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez has confirmed that he has undergone surgery on the severe knee injury that he suffered against Crystal Palace earlier this month. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Marcus Rashford is reportedly still hopeful of completing a 'dream switch' to Barcelona during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly prepared to make a €150m (£125m) move for Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk All transfer business is done and dusted for this season, but that doesn't stop clubs from preparing ahead for next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hatayspor vs. Alanyaspor (Sunday, 10.30am) Round 24 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig campaign pits relegation candidates Hatayspor against mid-table Alanyaspor at the Mersin Stadyumu on Sunday evening. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Nijmegen vs. Almere City (Sunday, 11.15am) Aiming to make it back-to-back wins and move closer to escaping the foot of the Eredivisie table, Almere City will travel to the Goffertstadion on Sunday to take on NEC. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Espanyol vs. Athletic Bilbao (Sunday, 1.00pm) Athletic Bilbao will be aiming to stretch their unbeaten run in La Liga to 15 matches when they head to Espanyol on Sunday. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Fiorentina vs. Como (Sunday, 11.30am) Top-four contenders Fiorentina will aim to boost their hopes of European qualification on Sunday, as they welcome Serie A strugglers Como to Stadio Franchi. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Werder Bremen vs. Hoffenheim (Sunday, 2.30pm) European hopefuls Werder Bremen will welcome relegation-threatened Hoffenheim to Weserstadion on Sunday in their 22nd Bundesliga game of the season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Montpellier vs. Lyon (Sunday, 2.00pm) Looking to give their survival hopes a major boost, Montpellier HSC will welcome Champions League-chasing Lyon to Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98 on Sunday afternoon for a Ligue 1 battle. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hearts vs. Rangers (Sunday, 12.00pm) Hearts host Rangers in the Scottish Premiership this weekend, hoping to boost their chances of qualifying for European football next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool vs. Wolves (Sunday, 2.00pm) With or without Arne Slot on the touchline, Liverpool's pursuit of Premier League stardom when Wolverhampton Wanderers stop over at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool could face a difficult test at Anfield on Sunday against Wolverhampton Wanderers and will have to show improvements from last time out, Reds expert David Lynch has argued. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United attacker Amad Diallo took to Instagram and confirmed he is set to be sidelined for some time after suffering an injury in training. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has hinted that he would be happy to stay at Anfield despite interest from Paris Saint-Germain. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly accepted that goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher will leave in the summer transfer window, and are said to be willing to do business for a fee of £30-40m. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The primary job of a goalkeeper is to keep the ball out of the back of their own net, but there are times, especially in the modern era, where we see some shot-stoppers contributing to goals at the right end of the pitch. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Arsenal might be struggling for strikers but one former wonderkid is loving life away from north London. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal should not give any thought to signing an "out of shape" free agent to solve their attacking shortage, Gunners expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Xabi Alonso continues to haunt his former employers Bayern Munich. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Despite being by far the better side, Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 0-0 draw with Bayern Munich at BayArena on Saturday in an anticlimactic six pointer in the Bundesliga title race. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Aaron Lennon believes Tottenham's clash against Manchester United could be a preview of the Europa League final. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton won their fourth Premier League match in five as they beat hosts Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick could make two changes to his XI for Monday's La Liga contest with Rayo Vallecano. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will welcome Rayo Vallecano to Estadi Olímpic Lluis Companys on Monday night knowing that a victory would see them rise above Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid to the top of the La Liga table. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Galatasaray will travel to face Caykur Rizespor at the Caykur Didi Stadium, aiming to maintain their lead at the top of the Turkish Super Lig table. 15 February 2025 talksport.com It takes a lot to shock Troy Deeney but Bournemouth star Justin Kluivert nearly rendered him speechless.
there is nothing here yet