Round 19 of the Spanish Football League will come to a close as we hold Monday's sole fixture between Villarreal (9-4-5) and Rayo Vallecano (7-5-6). Head on to our La Liga odds series and see what we have in store for our Villarreal-Rayo prediction and pick.
Villarreal currently sits in fifth place in the La Liga table, earning 31 points and fielding 21 goals in 18 games. They have the second-best home record behind Barcelona, where they won six games and lost only once to RCD Mallorca in the eight games they played at Estadio de la Ceramica, earning 19 points in the process.
Rayo is in ninth place in the league table, acquiring 26 points from seven wins and five draws. Five points separate Rayo from Villarreal, but they are 21 points away from league leaders Barcelona. With just four games played since the turn of the year, Rayo looks to find its second win in 2023, the first being a 0-1 win versus Real Valladolid.
Here are the Villarreal-Rayo soccer odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
La Liga Odds: Villarreal-Rayo Odds
Villarreal: -150
Rayo Vallecano: +410
Draw: +270
Over 2.5 Goals: -104
Under 2.5 Goals: -118
How to Watch Villarreal vs. Rayo
TV: ESPN Deportes, DAZN
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 3 PM ET /12 PM ET
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Why Villarreal Can Beat Rayo
Since their home defeat against Mallorca, the Yellow Submarine logged seven wins in the next nine matches. Their last three matches featured a draw versus Celta Vigo, a 2-3 defeat at the hands of former La Liga champions Rela Madridath the Copa del Rey Round of 16, and a recent win versus Girona, thanks to an extra-time goal from Dani Parejo.
Villarreal has been making improvements this season, pulling off 11.9 total shots and 5.1 corners per game. Quique Setien's side has a 53.3% ball possession rate which resulted in 21 goals scored, 10 coming off from assists. Alejandro Baena and Gerard Moreno share the honors as the squad's leading scorers with four apiece, while Yeremy Pino, Nicolas Jackson, and Arnaut Danjuma follow suit with two goals each. Parejo, Moreno, and Jackson also make up the squad's leading assist-makers while Samuel Chukwueze and Alfonso Pedraza also combined for three assists for the team.
The team has also made leaps in the defensive end. They have secured eight clean sheets this season, complemented by statistics such as 14.3 tackles, 7.7 interceptions, 18 clearances, and 3.3 goals per game. Geronimo Rulli is also making a name for himself this season. He ranks second only to Barcelona's Marc-Andre Ter Stegen in the running for the Ricardo Zamora trophy, the award for the goalkeeper with the lowest goals-to-games ratio. Rulli currently posts a 0.71 average goal allowed. Aissa Mandi, Juan Foyth, Raul ALbiol, and Pau Torres make up for a gritty backline for Villarreal. Torres, however, ranks as one of the players with the most yellow cards this season, earning seven to his name.
If Villarreal maintains its top-five finish by the end of the season, they will be qualified for the Europa League group stage. Until that point, they have to take one ball game at a time, starting with this match, where they will have to endure the possible absences of Jackson, Francis Coquelin, Giovani Lo Celso, and Alfonso Pedraza.
Why Rayo Can Beat Villarreal
Rayo Vallecano is also making some improvements on its own. They are currently perched in ninth place with 26 points from seven wins and five draws, which surpasses the halfway mark they made last season when they ended up in 12th place. Rayo has suffered some disappointing results in its recent fixtures, securing only one win since the arrival of 2023. They were knocked out of the Round of 32 in the Copa del Rey by Sporting Gijon and suffered defeats from, Real Betis Balompie and Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.
If there is some silver lining for the Red Sashes, it would be their slight advantage over Villarreal in the offensive end. Andoni Iraola's squad poses a 53.6% ball possession rate and makes 13.2 total shots and 5.3 corners per game. Isi Palazon leads the team with goals scored at five, followed by Sergio Camello (4), Alvaro Garcia (3), and Florian Lejeune (3). Palazon, Camello, and Garcia also combined for eight of the 15 assists registered by Rayo as part of their 24 goals this season.
The Vallecans are also as gritty on the defensive end. They have six clean sheets this season, all of which were kept by goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski. Lejeune, Fran Garcia, Alejandro Catena, and Ivan Balliu will likely complement in providing defense for the Thunderbolt, and they are looking to overtake the squad averages of 16.7 tackles, 8.1 interceptions, 16.4 clearances, and 2.6 saves.
Palazon, Raul de Tomas, and Oscar Valentin are reported as doubtful entering into this match.
Final Villarreal-Rayo Prediction & Pick
The two Spanish teams have the makings of making this match a brilliant spectacle. With their impressive home record and excellent form as of late, Villarreal looks primed to secure the three points in this contest.
Final Villarreal-Rayo Prediction & Pick: Villarreal (-150)
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