UD Almería and Rayo Vallecano seem pretty evenly matched
The Rojiblancos won over the Rayistas on their last visit to Madrid. The majority of their games were decided by small margins.
UD Almería are ready to play their first reverse encounter at the Vallecas Stadium where they managed to win on their last visit and where, the previous one, they also scored a point. In total, the Rojiblancos have visited the Madrid-based pitch eight times, pulling off two wins, two draws and four losses. Except on two occasions, there were always narrow victories for one team or the other, so Rayo Vallecano and UD Almería seem pretty evenly matched. The hosts face the clash after defeating Villarreal CF away from home while Rubi's men also beat RCD Espanyol de Barcelona 3-1 at the Power Horse Stadium.
BACKGROUND
The Rojiblancos bagged 4 points on their last two visits to Rayo Vallecano. In the 2020/21 season, UD Almería beat the Vallecano side for the first time in the Segunda Division courtesy of Jorge Cuenca's match winning goal in the dying minutes. Former UD Almería head coach Gomes was in the driving seat back then and a 95th-minute corner-kick was finished off by the centre-back to seal the valuable victory. It was the first time that the Indálicos attacked Vallecas because the previous one, in the past 2008/09 campaign, was in the Spanish Cup last-16 first leg (1-2).
STREAKS
The two outfits will go into the game on the back of victories; Rayo sit 7th in the table, just two points adrift from European competition spots, while UD Almería are in the middle of the table (11th) seven points behind their next rivals. UD Almería have not lost on their last two outings to Cádiz and Valencia while Rayo Vallecano have not won on their last two home games hosting Real Sociedad and Real Betis. There is also a dichotomy between Iraola's men and Rubi's side: while the former have clinched more points away from home (14) than in their stadium (15), the later have just the opposite, with only three points added as visitors compared to 19 points bagged as hosts.
REFEREE
César Soto Grado (La Rioja Referees) will be the match official and will be assisted in the VAR by Ricardo de Burgos Bengoechea. He has refereed two games in which UD Almería ended up drawing and winning. Meanwhile, César has blown the whistle in three matches played by Rayo Vallecano: two wins and one defeat. The meeting is scheduled for this Monday (kick-off 9pm CET). It will be the first game of the second half of the season (Matchday 20).
