Rayo Vallecano will be looking to make it back to back wins when they visit Granada in the La Liga. The visitors opened their season with a 2-0 victory over Almeria on August 11. Granada suffered a 3-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid in their first game of the new campaign.
Preview (Granada vs Rayo Vallecano)
Granada was demoted from La Liga at the conclusion of the 2021–22 season. They were able to gain re-election to the top division by winning the 2023–23 Segunda Division. The performance of Paco Lopez’s team this term won’t be influenced by how they fare against teams like Diego Simeone’s squad, as they traveled to Atletico in their season opener and lost 3-1. This summer’s transfer window saw the home team bring in six new players. These included the permanent additions of Shon Weissman and Famara Diedhiou.
Since December 2013, Grana hasn’t triumphed over Rayo in Spain’s top division. However, the two teams shared the points in a 2-2 draw in the same game in 2021–2022. On August 11, Rayo defeated Almeria 2-0 in their season opener. Isi Palazon scored the game’s first goal from the penalty spot. Randy Nteka added a second goal eight minutes later. Seven players have joined Francisco’s team during the summer transfer window. Jorge de Frutos from Levante proving to be their most expensive signing in terms of fee.
With 49 points from 38 games in the previous season’s top tier of Spain, Rayo came in at 11th position, just four points behind Osasuna in seventh. Andoni Iraola, the manager of the capital team, left for Bournemouth over the summer, but Francisco, who had previously been in charge of Elche, made a strong opening against Almeria the previous time around. Rayo is now playing in their third consecutive season in La Liga. After finishing 12th and 11th in their previous two seasons, they will be looking to move up the standings this time around.
Team News
Inability to be selected due to a muscle issue, Raul Torrente will not be available for Granada on Monday. After the defeat the last time out, head coach Lopez will resist the urge to rearrange his team. A back five is once more expected to take the field, and Samu is likely to keep his post next to Myrto Uzuni in the attack. In contrast, Rayo has added three new players since their first match of the year, including Kike Perez, De Frutos, and Sergio Camello.
Nteka should therefore stay in the final third of the field, Oscar Trejo will play as the number 10, and Palazon and Alvaro Garcia will play in the wide positions. We are betting on another draw in this La Liga matchup because the previous two encounters between these two teams ended in draws. Although Granada will have the home edge and we anticipate a close game, Rayo was great in their season opener.
Granada 1 – 1 Rayo Vallecano
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