Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the La Liga match.
Over the past month, Villarreal have slipped down the La Liga standings, while Rayo Vallecano are climbing towards the top ten. During the weekend, they held Real Madrid to a draw at home (3:3), so an away trip to a struggling Villarreal might not pose a significant challenge for them.
Villarreal
Villarreal's attacking approach under the current coaching staff exposes their play on both ends. The bet on both teams to score has come through in six of their last nine matches. In the last round, they lost to Real Betis (1:2)—with Logan Costa, Santi Comesaña, and Alfonso Pedraza absent, which impacted their defence. In terms of xG, Villarreal were much more threatening than the Sevillians (2.01 against 0.60), and in the overall expected goals metric, Villarreal rank in La Liga's top four (32.00).
Rayo Vallecano
In Rayo's four December matches, the total over 2.5 has been seen three times. Their high-scoring draw with Real Madrid proved that Rayo Vallecano are in fine mental shape, creating far more chances (1.65 against 0.65 in xG). The coaching staff emphasise vertical play with a 4-4-2 formation—the wide midfielders frequently join the attack, forming an attacking quartet with the forwards.
Villarreal vs Rayo Vallecano Prediction
Matches involving Villarreal and Rayo Vallecano regularly feature plenty of goals. The teams need points midweek to improve their league positions, so they will likely prioritise attacking play.
