Sevilla vs Rayo Vallecano 26/04/19

26 April 2019

The Champions League contestants Sevilla welcome dead-last Rayo Vallecano to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán for midweek’s La Liga fixture.

The hosts go into this meeting off the back of a disappointing 3-0 road loss to Getafe at the weekend, which has brought their three-game LL winning run to an end. Sitting two points adrift of fourth-placed Getafe, Los Hispalenses hope to post their third straight LL home triumph to keep their chances of securing the Champions League promotion alive. Although they’ve been regarded as one of the toughest LL hosts for the majority of the season, Sevilla’s recent drop-off in form has seen them lose two of their previous five LL games at this venue (W3, L2) with both of those failures coming against teams from the upper half of the table. Los Nervionenses have, however, been ruthless against LL bottom-five teams, clinching all four wins at home this term, scoring 11 goals while conceding just two across those clashes.

Meanwhile, a mediocre haul of five points from their last five LL outings (W1, D2, L2) currently sees the visitors nailed to the bottom of the table. Sitting six points below 17th-placed Girona, Los Franjirrojos have to make the most out of this game, but judging on their recent road form, it seems like a daunting prospect. Los Vallecanos have not only lost all six of their previous LL away encounters, but they’ve also allowed 2+ match goals in each although bagging at least one goal too. Interestingly though, all three of Rayo’s LL road wins have ended with the identical 1-0 scoreline in their favor, and those victories were also the only games in which they’ve managed to preserve a clean slate away from home this campaign.