Rayo Vallecano vs Girona Game Analysis, Odds
Girona Shockingly on Top of La Liga Table
Girona Going For Fifth Straight Win
Girona have undoubtedly been La Liga’s biggest surprise team through 11 matches. With nearly a third of the season behind us, Girona are on top of the league table. It’s not like it’s been a fluke either, they’ve scored the league’s most goals up to this point. On Saturday, they head to Madrid to take on a Rayo Vallecano side that just drew vs. Real Madrid. Ahead of this important La Liga match, we’ll cover the odds and team news in our Rayo Vallecano vs Girona game analysis.
Rayo Vallecano vs Girona
Location: Estadio de Vallecas, Madrid, Spain
Date & Time: Saturday, November 11th, 8:00 a.m. EST
Head-to-Head:
Last soccer season, there were two opportunities to bet on this fixture. Our Rayo Vallecano vs Girona game analysis notes both matches finished in 2-2 draws. Isi Palazon scored in each match for Rayo Vallecano. In March’s match, at Rayo, Girona’s Viktor Tsyhankov scored a brace. Rayo have lost just one of the last five meetings, in all competitions, with a 2-2-1 record.
Rayo Draw Once Again
Only Girona and Real Madrid have lost fewer games than Rayo Vallecano this season. Rayo, Madrid’s third club, have gotten off to a 4-6-2 start and are currently on a nine-game unbeaten run, in all competitions. Most La Liga predictions had Rayo losing to Real Madrid in a derby match last weekend but the visitors came away with a scoreless draw. Sure the expected goal margin was 2.2 to 0.1 in favor of Real Madrid but Rayo managed to escape unscathed.
Rayo aren’t the most creative team but they are certainly frustrating to play against. They limited Real Madrid’s chances and held tight at the back in Sunday’s draw. They’ve now drawn six of their last seven La Liga games and half of their matches have finished all square this season. Despite having a -1 goal difference, Rayo are in the top half of the table, in ninth place.
Raul de Tomas has started most of Rayo’s games up front but has failed to score a La Liga goal so far this season. Alvaro Garcia leads Rayo, with three goals, but they’ve scored just 1.2 goals per game this season. They’ve made up for that by keeping six clean sheets so far. Along with Garcia, Isi Palazon is one to watch for Rayo Vallecano. Even though they’re on a long unbeaten run, our Rayo Vallecano vs Girona game analysis notes the oddsmakers price the hosts as underdogs.
Girona Dreaming of Shock Title
Current Rayo Vallecano manager Francisco coached Girona from 2020 to 21. Girona coach Michel was also at Rayo from 2017 to 2019 and he’s done a stellar job at Girona. The scores and odds show Girona already have nearly two thirds of the points they managed all of last season, which wasn’t at all a bad one for them. After earning promotion from the Segunda Division in 2021-22, Girona finished in tenth in 2022-23.
Now, they’re incredibly on top of the Spanish La Liga standings with a record of ten wins, one draw and one loss. Girona are scoring in bunches this season and have 10 goals in their last three games alone. Last weekend, the City Group-owned club climbed to the top of the table with a 4-2 win at Osasuna. Girona trailed 2-1 in the second half but goals in quick succession from Artem Dovbyk, Viktor Tsyhankov and Aleix Garcia powered the visitors to a fourth straight La Liga win.
Six Girona players have already scored at least three La Liga goals. Dovbyk is second in the league so far, with ten goal contributions. Savio and Aleix Garcia also have seven goal contributions apiece while Daley Blind is an experienced presence at the back. David Lopez could miss this one for the league leaders, though.
Match Analysis & Odds
This projects to be an intriguing match as La Liga’s most explosive offense faces off against one of the league’s best defenses. Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski has kept clean sheets in 50 percent of his games. He also has the third-best save percentage in the league at the moment. Still, his Rayo are +185 underdogs for Saturday’s match.
The odds do respect Rayo’s defensive prowess, though, as Girona under 1.5 goals comes in at -140 odds. Bettors can take yet another Rayo draw at +260, while Girona are +135 moneyline favorites. At this point, Girona should be treated as one of the strongest teams in the league. It’s certainly not easy to gain 31 points from 12 games and they have the personnel to get a fifth straight win.
Rayo Vallecano pk, +0.5 sits at -125 odds here, while punters may fancy Girona pk, -0.5 at +105. While many of Girona’s matches have been shootouts this season, this one could be lower-scoring. Under 2.5, 3 goals are priced at -120 odds for one of the best La Liga games of the week.
For La Liga betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
