Atletico Madrid are aiming to maintain their recent good form as they travel to Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Sunday.
Rayo Vallecano are coming off a 1-1 home draw with Valencia in their previous La Liga fixture. They took an early lead through Santi Comesana and held on for much of the contest before the visitors struck the equalizer seven minutes from time.
That result means Rayo Vallecano are now winless in their last seven matches and remain eighth on the La Liga standings. The problem appears to be an inability to hold on to leads having been pegged back in their last two matches.
A small positive for Rayo Vallecano is that they have impressed at home in recent times. Andoni Iraola’s men are unbeaten in their last four matches at the Estadio de Vallecas, although three of those fixtures have ended in draws.
After enduring a slow start to the season, Atletico Madrid are slowly returning to their best in recent weeks. They are now sitting comfortably in third having gone unbeaten in their last nine matches across all competitions, claiming seven wins in that run.
That run has been driven by a solid defence as Atletico Madrid appear to have regained their trademark solidity at the back. That compactness was evident last time out as they claimed a 1-0 victory over Real Betis in their previous fixture.
Atletico Madrid have also impressed on their recent travels and are unbeaten in their last five La Liga matches. Diego Simeone’s men have a won three of the last four matches in that run, keeping clean sheets in all three wins.
How the bookies view it
Atletico Madrid have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 10/11 by William Hill to claim the win. A victory for Rayo Vallecano is valued at 7/2 by BetVictor while a draw is set at odds of 5/2 with bet365.
Head to head
Atletico Madrid have a 17-4 advantage with 16 draws from 27 previous matches with Rayo Vallecano. They claimed a 1-0 victory on their last visit to the Estadio de Vallecas while the reverse fixture ended in a 1-1 draw.
Players to watch
Atletico Madrid have rediscovered their trademark defensive solidity, keeping clean sheets in three of their last four away matches. The defensive trio of Stefan Savic, Mario Hermoso and Jose Gimenez can lead the visitors to another clean sheet at 6/5 with BoyleSports.
At the other end of the pitch, Antoine Griezmann will be the one to watch for Atletico Madrid. The striker has three goals in his last five matches and is priced at 12/5 by bet365 to find the net on Sunday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Atletico Madrid have won to nil in three of their last four away matches and a similar outcome is priced at 15/8 with BetVictor. With a 6-1 victory over Sevilla among their recent results, Atletico Madrid can be backed in the -1 handicap market at 5/2 with bet365.
Given Atletico Madrid’s solid defence and with Rayo Vallecano not particularly convincing in attack, BTTS NO can be tipped at 31/40 by BetVictor.
This La Liga match between Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid will be played on Apr 9, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Rayo Vallecano vs Atletico Madrid prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
