Rayo Vallecano welcome Strasbourg to Vallecas on Thursday night in the first leg of their Conference League semi-final tie.
After finishing inside the top eight of the league phase, Rayo knocked out Turkish side Samsunspor in the last-16 before squeezing by AEK Athens in the quarter-finals.
Inigo Perez’s hosts had won the first leg 3-0 at home, but were down 3-0 in the Greek capital after just 51 minutes, before a goal from Isi Palazon on the hour mark meant the Vallecas outfit went through 4-3 on aggregate.
Los Franjirrojos drew 3-3 against Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday, leaving them in 11th position, five points from the European places but also just five points from the relegation zone.
Strasbourg finished top of the league phase table, meaning they advanced to the last-16 where they edged past Croatian side Rijeka 3-2 on aggregate.
Gary O’Neil’s men lost their quarter-final first leg 2-0 in Mainz, but an emphatic 4-0 victory seven days later at the Meinau in the return leg was enough to see them through to this stage.
Le Racing were also victorious in Ligue 1 at the weekend, as they came from two goals down to win 2-3 at Lorient, meaning they are now seven points behind sixth-placed Marseille, with a game in hand.
How the bookies view it: Rayo favourites
Rayo are favourites to take a lead over to France next week, with bet365 pricing a home success at 5/4.
Strasbourg are 12/5 to claim their sixth continental victory on their travels this season, whilst the draw is 9/4.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this will be the first-ever competitive clash between these two clubs.
Players to watch: Isi does it
As mentioned above, Isi Palazon was the hero in the last round, with his goal in Athens being the one that put Rayo through to this stage of the competition.
The Spanish playmaker also scored in the first leg at Vallecas against the Greek side, meaning he now has three goals and three assists in this competition this season, and is priced at 7/5 at bet365 to Score or Assist.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Rayo will be without top-scorer Alvaro Garcia and Diego Mendez, whilst Luiz Felipe and Randy Nteka are doubts.
Guess Doue has returned to training and may make the squad.
Rayo Vallecano: Batalla, Ratiu, Lejeune, Felipe, Chavarria, Lopez, Ciss, Akhomach, Palazon, Espino, de Frutos
Strasbourg: Penders, Ouattara, Omobamidele, Doukoure, Chilwell, Barco, El Mourabet, Moreira, Nanasi, Godo, Enciso
Anything else catch the eye?
Rayo’s matches in Europe this campaign have been full of goals, with their previous nine continental clashes averaging 3.33 goals per game, with Over 2.5 Goals landing in eight (89%) of them.
Over 2.5 Goals has also been a winning selection in seven of Strasbourg’s past 11 matches in the Conference League – including in 4/6 (67%) of them on their travels – and a repeat pays an appealing 21/20 at bet365.
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