Real Betis vs Rayo Vallecano

Real Betis and Rayo Vallecano will face each other in a top-half La Liga clash at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.

Betis have built some momentum of late, winning four of their last six La Liga matches (D1, L1), as many victories as they had in their 15 outings in the competition beforehand (W4, D9, L2). ‘Los Verdiblancos’ look likely to keep their solid form going here, as they are unbeaten in their last four top-flight meetings with Rayo Vallecano (W2, D2), scoring precisely two goals three times in the process. Going into this round on the back of a 1-1 Europa League draw with Bayer Leverkusen, Betis will have to be wary of a European hangover, having failed to win both La Liga fixtures on the back of their Europa League exploits (D1, L1). Manuel Pellegrini’s men have conceded first in three of their four league home games this term.

Meanwhile, the visitors go into this round amid a purple patch, having won five of their last seven La Liga fixtures (D1, L1), as many triumphs as they had in their previous 19 top-flight outings combined (W2, D3, L14). However, Rayo Vallecano have failed to win any of their last seven La Liga visits to Andalusian sides (D3, L4), losing the last three in a row without finding the net. On the bright side, though, they have only lost one of their previous six La Liga trips to Betis (W3, D2), scoring precisely twice in four of their last five such match-ups. Vallecano’s free-scoring form at the Benito Villamarin should inspire their hopes of improving a paltry goalscoring return on the road this season, with ‘Los Franjirrojos’ netting an average of 0.6 goals per La Liga trip thus far.