MARK O’HAIRE (@MarkOHaire) talks us through his betting views on Monday night’s La Liga offering between Getafe and Rayo Vallecano.
Getafe v Rayo Vallecano | Monday 19.30 | Sky Sports 2
It’s been a bumpy start to life under new head coach Fran Escriba for Getafe. Having concluded their 2014/15 campaign without a win in eight and finishing just two points above the bottom three, the Deep Blues flirted with a first relegation since reaching the top-flight over a decade ago.
Escriba, so successful with Elche, was brought in to add stability and a path to progression. Last season Getafe went through three coaches and conceded 64 goals over the course of the season contributing to 21 defeats – the highest number outside of the bottom-two.
Coming into their Matchday 12 contest with Rayo, the Deep Blues are only out of the relegation zone on goals scored but Escriba’s troops have endured a tough fixture list – seven of their first 11 games have come against sides sitting in 11th and above.
Three consecutive losses to Eibar, Barcelona and Sevilla can be forgiven but failing to even score in five of their last seven will have understandably concerned the Getafe hierarchy and supporters. The hosts’ three La Liga victories this season have all come against the bottom-three at their Coliseum Alfonso Perez base.
On Monday night, Escriba will attempt to plug the gaps at the back. Both Alexis and Damian Suarez sit out the Rayo fixture through suspensions, leaving Emiliano Velazquez to partner Santiago Vergini at centre-half with Vigaray asked to fill in at right-back. It’s not an ideal situation against an enterprising Rayo side.
Paco Jemez’s visitors only absentee is David Cobeno and although Los Franjirrojos have lost three on the spin on the road, like Getafe, those defeats have come against Eibar, Barcelona and Sevilla – forgivable. In fact, the Vallecans sole success on their travels came in their only trip to a bottom-half dweller – Las Palmas.
Rayo have taken 12 of their 13 points against clubs in 10th and below with Javi Guerra playing a key role in attack, scoring each of the visitors’ last four goals. Jemez’s heart stopping brand of ‘all or nothing’ football has seen Los Franjirrojos win the hearts of plenty of neutrals and makes Monday night’s travellers dangerous opposition.
Indeed, the Vallecans have triumphed in eight of their previous 12 away days at bottom-half teams now and also hold a remarkable head-to-head record with their Madrid rivals Getafe. Rayo have W7-D0-L1 in their previous eight La Liga encounters, winning all four of their visits to the Coliseum.
With Getafe suffering from defensive selection problems, I’m keen to keep Rayo onside once more. Under Jemez, the visitors have drawn just 8/62 (13%) of their away days and so it may pay to invest in a 21st Rayo Vallecano victory from 63 La Liga road trips at a best price 85/40 with BetVictor.
It’s worth noting, backing Rayo to win on their travels in each of those 62 matches would have yielded a profit of £165 from £10 level stakes, making the Vallecans a sensible poke for this Madrid derby.
Best Bets
Getafe v Rayo Vallecano – Rayo Vallecano to win (85/40 BetVictor)
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