On Friday, Espanyol and Rayo Vallecano head into Matchday Two of the new La Liga season in search of their first victory as they battle at Estadi Cornella-El Prat with kickoff at 9 pm.
In their opener, last weekend, the club from Cornella de Llobregat scored two goals in the final 18 minutes plus stoppage time to secure a 2-2 draw with Getafe.
The club’s new manager, Diego Martinez, will have been pleased with that result, as he faces a massive challenge to bring consistency to a squad that narrowly avoided relegation from La Liga last season.
While his side looked like the same struggling defensive unit, they were in 2021-22, conceding two goals within 63 minutes of play on Sunday. Martinez has a habit of imprinting his playing personality on a team and will no doubt be working hard to address this issue going forward.
Rayo Vallecano finished 12th in their first campaign back in La Liga after spending six years in the Segunda Division. They had a solid season, but they could have done better.
They were in fourth place at the end of October, but they went 13 matches without a win and were almost relegated. Andoni Iraola’s style of play is very attacking. He likes to use lots of widths and stretch the defense by sending his fullbacks up the field.
Espanyol vs Rayo Vallecano Head to Head
Both sides have 19 games against each other, with hosts taking seven wins and visitors winning eight. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Celta Vigo 2-2 Espanyol
- Napoli 0-0 Espanyol
- Brighton 5-1 Espanyol
- Espanyol 0-1 RB Libense
Away
- Barcelona 0-0 Rayo Vallecano
- Rayo Vallecano 0-0 Real Valladolid
- Man United 1-1 Rayo Vallecano
- Leganes 1-2 Rayo Vallecano
Espanyol Team News
Edu Exposito and Joselu scored in the second half to help Espanyol earn a draw in their season opener against Getafe on Saturday. In contrast, Luca Koleosho earned his second career La Liga cap. The club will be looking for Sergi Darder to replicate his play from last year when he led the team with nine assists domestically.
Rayo Vallecano Team News
Stole Dimitrievski, who is on loan from Atletico Madrid and started in goal for Vallecano, made six saves to help his side draw 0-0 with Barcelona in their first game. Sergio Camello started as the lone striker up front, playing 62 minutes before being replaced by Radamel Falcao.
Prediction and Odds
Neither team dominated the other in their last meeting, so we can expect to see a stalemate between these two teams as they each look for consistency in the early stages of this season.
- Correct Score: 1-1
- Draw
- Double Chance
