Rayo Vallecano will take on Atletico Madrid on Sunday, 22 September in a match that the hosts will be looking forward to after Atletico's midweek excursions.
The hosts have started the new season reasonably well and currently sit on seven points from five matches. They managed to beat the drop by a single position last year so their solid start to the campaign will have filled them with the hope for the year ahead.
Atletico Madrid will also be pleased with their start to the campaign. They are unbeaten in the league and sit second in the table.
How the bookies view it: Atleti go in as favourites
Atletico Madrid start this one as favourites which is to be expected given their stature in Spain compared to Rayo Vallecano. Betfred have priced an Atletico Madrid victory at 4/5 while a win for Rayo Vallecano has been priced at 7/2. The draw, which would be a better result for the home side, has been priced at 13/5.
Recent head-to-head: Advantage Atletico
This is a fixture that has been dominated by Atletico Madrid over the years with Diego Simeone regularly getting the better of Rayo Vallecano. Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in their last 16 matches against Rayo with 13 of those resulting in victories. The last time Rayo Vallecano managed to beat Atletico Madrid was back in 2013 in Diego Simeone's first full season in charge of Atleti.
Players to watch: Griezmann is still the main man
Atletico Madrid went big in the summer on several midfielders and forwards. They brought in Conor Gallagher to play in the middle of the park and signed Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth to play up front.
Despite spending well over £100m on recruits, their best player is still Antoine Griezmann who is now in his ninth season as an Atletico Madrid player. The Frenchman has scored 31 goals and provided 22 assists in La Liga over the course of the last two seasons and has started the new season in good form.
The Frenchman has scored two league goals and provided two assists in Atletico's first five matches and proved that he is still the man for the big occasions when he scored and assisted in their first Champions League match of the season to get them over the line against RB Leipzig.
Predicted line-ups
Rayo Vallecano could give a first start to James Rodriguez this weekend in a move that would certainly excite supporters. Atletico Madrid are expected to rate their squad after playing in the Champions League on Thursday night which could mean a rest for Alvarez.
Rayo Vallecano: Batalla – Chavarria, Mumin, Lejeune, Ratiu – Lopez, Valentin – Garcia, Rodriguez, De Frutos – Camello
Atletico Madrid: Oblak – Lino, Azpilicueta, Witsel, Le Normand, Llorente – De Paul, Gallagher, Koke – Griezmann, Sorloth
Anything else catch the eye?
Atletico Madrid have a formidable front line this season and last year, they put seven goals past Rayo Vallecano in this same fixture. Rayo still look ropy at the back and have conceded at least once in four of their five La Liga matches so far. Atletico Madrid to score over 1.5 goals has been priced at 11/10 with Betfred.
This La Liga match between Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid will be played on Sep 22, 2024 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.
