Rayo Vallecano v Deportivo Tips | 14th September 2015

WEEK three of La Liga concludes on Monday night with Rayo’s home clash against Deportivo. Mark O’Haire (@MarkOHaire) takes a look at the odds.

Rayo Vallecano v Deportivo | Monday 19.30 | Sky Sports 3

Both Rayo Vallecano and Deportivo are searching for their first wins of the new season in Spain but neither side has an early season record worth touting. In 2014/15, 11th-placed finishers Rayo had to wait until week five for their first three–pointer whilst Deportivo bagged just one victory in their opening seven outings following promotion.

The odds have favoured Los Franjirrojos with BetVictor offering best price 5/4 on the hosts and it’s a price that just about holds a slice of appeal. I’m a keen admirer of Pace Jemez’s ability and ethos as a head coach and since he took charge of the capital club, Rayo have been a real ‘all or nothing’ side in front of their home fans.

At their Vallecas base, Jemez’s men have W25-D6-L27 in 58 La Liga fixtures. That includes W8-D3-L9. If you were pricing the game up on Rayo’s home form alone, they’d be around a 6/4 shot. However, throw in Deportivo’s road record since promotion back to the top-flight and there is a little bit more juice in Los Franjirrojos’ odds.

Depor finished 16th despite pocketing just one win from February last term. However, they did avoid defeat in eight of their final 11 matches to ease relegation fears. Still, their recent return of W1-D10-L7 is far from formidable and Victor Sanchez’s is well aware he’ll need to start grinding out victories on their travels.

The Galician side W2-D9-L9 when playing away in 2014/15 – that 45% loss rate would make a Rayo win closer to 6/5 – and the visitors make the journey to Madrid with 11 defeats in 12 of their most recent journeys to the capital. But it should be noted; the Brancoazuis’ sole success in that run came at Vallecas in January.

Sanchez’s squad underwent heavy surgery in the summer and they’ve kicked off their new campaign with two draws, courtesy of a stalemate with Real Sociedad and a 2-2 tie with Valencia. Cani is set to miss out on Monday and although the side look stronger on paper than this time 12 months ago, it may take time to see the real Depor.

Rayo were stuffed 3-0 at Celta before the international break but the early dismissal of goalkeeper Tono set the tone and Jemez’s troops performed admirably in their opener – a goalless draw with Valencia. The hosts did manage to pick up maximum points in six of their final nine home games last season and can also call upon new striker Javi Guerra to lead the line.

I won’t be getting too carried away here – bit of a disastrous weekend punting in La Liga – but if you’re having a punt, Rayo look the better equipped to take the points and just about resemble a slice of Monday night value.