Rayo Vallecano vs Athletic Bilbao Betting Odds, Tips, Predictions, Preview 5th March 2023

Rayo Vallecano will be taking on visiting team Athletic Bilbao at Campo de Futbol de Vallecas in a La Liga tie this coming Sunday.

Placed six in the table Rayo Vallecano have amassed 34 points after 23 matches. On 32 points, Athletic Bilbao rank nine with 23 matches played this season.

The sides seem to be evenly matched, but Athletic Bilbao can leapfrog Rayo Vallecano in the table with a win this coming Sunday. They will, of course, be eager to do just that, the question is though, how will the hosts respond to the threat?

Rayo Vallecano are not a high scoring team these days, as they only found the back of the net nine times in the last ten outings. That is an average of just 0.9 goals per game, as they conceded nine goals. They managed four clean sheets in these matches.

Athletic Bilbao hit the target 12 times in the last ten outings, which creates an average of 1.2 goals a game. They conceded 1.2 goals per match for a total of 12 goals, while claiming three clean sheets as well.

Supporters will be hoping to see a similarly thrilling encounter, as it turned out to be the last time Rayo Vallecano played against Athletic Bilbao. It finished 3-2 in a great La Liga match between the pair.

Rayo Vallecano vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction

Rayo Vallecano Form

In the previous three games, Rayo Vallecano drew 1-1 with Getafe, lost 1-1 against Sevilla and 1-0 against Cadiz. Rayo Vallecano only pulled off two wins from a possible six in recent La Liga matches on home soil. Of the remaining four matches, they drew two and lost two, as they scored seven and conceded seven goals.

Athletic Bilbao Form

Athletic Bilbao were unable to pick up a single point in their last three matches, as they were first beaten 1-0 by Atletico Madrid. Next up, Girona won 2-3, before losing 1-0 against Osasuna. Athletic Bilbao claimed just one win from the last six away games in the La Liga. They also drew one and were defeated four times, as they were outscored by eight goals to four.

Athletic Bilbao could find it tough to break down the defensive barriers put up by Rayo Vallecano at Campo de Futbol de Vallecas on Sunday. The home side doesn't score much themselves, though, and we aim for the under 2.5 goals betting market.

Rayo Vallecano have taken eight points from their last nine games against teams from the top half of the La Liga table. They won two of these matches with a scoreline of nine goals to 14. Athletic Bilbao took two wins from their last ten games against teams from the top half of the La Liga table. They collected nine points, scored five goals and conceded 13. Rayo Vallecano enjoy a record of nine wins, seven draws and seven defeats in the La Liga this season. Athletic Bilbao so far pulled off nine wins, five draws and nine defeats in the La Liga.

Rayo Vallecano vs Athletic Bilbao Squads

Rayo Vallecano Squad

The 40-year-old coach of the home team, Andoni Iraola, will select the lineup against Athletic Bilbao from the squad below. The information in the brackets refers to goals scored and matches played in the La Liga this season:

Diego Lopez (0/1), Mauricio Arboleda (0/0), Miguel Morro (0/0), Stole Dimitrievski (0/22), Abdul Mumin (0/4), Alejandro Catena (1/22), Esteban Ariel Saveljich (0/0), Florian Lejeune (4/21), Mario Hernandez (0/2), Alvaro Garcia (4/21), Andres Martin (0/5), Diego Mendez (0/0), Francisco Garcia (0/23), Isi Palazon (5/22), Ivan Balliu (0/23), Mario Suarez (0/1), Oscar Valentin (0/20), Pablo Munoz (0/2), Pathe Ciss (1/21), Pep Chavarria (0/8), Salvi Sanchez (0/12), Santi Comesana (1/21), Unai Lopez (1/22), Jose Pozo (0/6), Oscar Trejo (2/21), Radamel Falcao (2/19), Raul de Tomas (0/5), Sergio Camello (5/23).

Athletic Bilbao Squad

Below is the full team squad of Athletic Bilbao. The manager Valverde will pick his starting XI against Rayo Vallecano from these players:

Alex Padilla (0/0), Ander Iruarrizaga (0/0), Julen Agirrezabala (0/2), Unai Simon (0/22), Aitor Paredes (0/8), Ander Capa (0/3), Daniel Vivian (1/16), Inigo Lekue (0/17), Inigo Martinez (0/9), Mikel Balenziaga (0/1), Oscar de Marcos (0/23), Yeray Alvarez (1/20), Yuri Berchiche (1/14), Ander Herrera (0/8), Dani Garcia (0/14), Mikel Vesga (2/22), Oier Zarraga (0/16), Oihan Sancet (8/23), Raul Garcia (2/22), Unai Vencedor (0/6), Alex Berenguer (3/22), Gorka Guruzeta (5/16), Iker Muniain (0/20), Inaki Williams (5/21), Jon Morcillo (0/10), Luis Bilbao (0/0), Malcom Ares (0/0), Nico Serrano (0/0), Nico Williams (4/22).

Rayo Vallecano vs Athletic Bilbao Team News

Athletic Bilbao just have a single unavailable player for squad selection, when facing Rayo Vallecano at the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas.

Inigo Martinez nurses an injury and won't be travelling with Athletic Bilbao.

Rayo Vallecano vs Athletic Bilbao Lineups

Rayo Vallecano vs Athletic Bilbao H2H

Their latest encounter in the La Liga was a belter of a game, which finished with a 3-2 scoreline. An uncommon result, but we would not mind a similar goal fest this coming Sunday. Athletic Bilbao have a good reading on Rayo Vallecano, as they won seven of the last ten encounters. The latter sprung a surprise, though, by winning 3-2 in the latest meeting. The bookies have Athletic Bilbao to win this match at best price odds of 17/10.

Rayo Vallecano vs Athletic Bilbao Results

In five of the previous ten matches between Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Bilbao both teams scored.

Rayo Vallecano vs Athletic Bilbao Betting Tips

Having scored just once lately in the La Liga, Florian Lejeune will be eager to hit the target again, and the upcoming game presents an opportunity to step up. Athletic Bilbao hope Oihan Sancet can inflict some damage on their upcoming opponents by adding to his tally of four La Liga goals in his last six La Liga games.

Campo de Futbol de Vallecas witnessed Rayo Vallecano winning five of their 10 latest matches across all tournaments here. They drew three and lost two in this run. Athletic Bilbao won five of their previous 10 games away, drew one and lost four. Goals should be on the menu at Campo de Futbol de Vallecas, with both teams scoring in six of the last 10 matches at home for Rayo Vallecano. The same outcome paid dividends in four of the last 10 away games for Athletic Bilbao.

The last ten encounters between Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Bilbao saw over 2.5 goals scored six times, with Rayo Vallecano averaging 0.9 goals a game. Athletic Bilbao scored 1.8 goals on average in these, as both teams scored five times in this run. Over 2.5 goals happened in two of Rayo Vallecano’s last ten matches across all tournaments. They pulled off an average of 0.9 goals during this run. Over 2.5 goals happened in five of the last ten outings for Athletic Bilbao, who managed to score 1.3 times in those matches.