Rayo Vallecano vs Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid’s inexorable march toward an 11th straight top-four finish in La Liga continues at the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas as they meet mid-table Rayo Vallecano.
Rayo Vallecano’s form wobble in La Liga continued with a frustrating 1-1 draw at Valencia last time out. After going winless in seven straight league matches (D5, L2), the hosts must launch a substantial winning streak if they’re to make up ground on European placings. With seven points separating them from sixth-placed Villarreal at the start of this round, Vallecano will be desperate to end an underwhelming run of three consecutive home league draws. However, Atletico’s visit won’t do them any favors, with ‘Los Franjirrojos’ losing five consecutive top-flight H2Hs at home since a 2-1 win in 2013, including the last four without scoring. But since they’ve averaged two goals per game in their three most recent league outings, Andoni Iraola’s men will be confident about breaking that scoring drought.

On the other hand, visiting Atletico Madrid left it late to beat fellow top-four rivals Real Betis at home last weekend (1-0), which doesn’t change the fact they start this round nine points clear of fifth-placed Betis after winning four league matches on the trot. Since a 1-0 home loss to pacesetters Barcelona in early January, Diego Simeone’s men have gone into overdrive, stringing together 11 league matches without a defeat (W8, D3), so optimism should be at an all-time high. Adding to this sentiment, ‘Los Colchoneros’ haven’t lost any of their five away league games in 2023 (W3, D2). But with each of those three victories yielding a narrow 1-0 scoreline, Atletico might play with their fans’ nerves again.