Real Madrid – Rayo Vallecano Match Preview

Real Madrid welcome Rayo Vallecano at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for the 36th round of the Spanish La Liga.

Affected by their defeat to City and the elimination from the UEFA Champions League final, Real Madrid lost 1-0 to the local side in Valencia. They were poor in the first half and deservedly found themselves back in the score. In the second half, they stepped up their performance and missed some chances to score but were unlucky in the final attempt.

With this defeat, Real, combined with Atletico's Madrid win, dropped to 3rd place in the standings with 71 points compared to 72 of their city rivals.

Rayo Vallecano failed to get back to winning ways, last Sunday afternoon they were beaten at home by Espanyol 2-1. They found themselves chasing the score in the 23rd minute but managed to get an equalizer just before halftime. They fell behind the score again in the second half but couldn't find a response and inevitably didn't get anything from that game. 

This defeat diminished Rayo's hopes in their effort to qualify for a European ticket, they remained on 46 points being 11th-placed in La Liga, having 4 points less than 7th place.

A virtually indifferent encounter, where Real is coming off 2 consecutive defeats and will look for a win for prestige reasons, while Rayo has only mathematical hopes for a top-seven spot. I expect a very open encounter where goals and spectacle is expected. My pick is Over 2,5 goals at 1.65 odds.