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La Liga | Gameweek 8
Oct 8, 2022 at 1pm UK
Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos
RV
Almeria
3 - 1
Rayo Vallecano
Robertone (8'), Babic (17'), Bilal Toure (39')
Samu (66'), Embarba (70'), Ramazani (90+1')
Embarba (87')
FT(HT: 3-0)
Catena (81')
Salvi (45+1'), Valentin (57')

Preview: Almeria vs. Rayo Vallecano - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Almeria vs. Rayo Vallecano - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Saturday's La Liga clash between Almeria and Rayo Vallecano, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Newly-promoted Almeria welcome capital club Rayo Vallecano to the Power Horse Stadium on Saturday, to open the day's LaLiga action.

The hosts are in miserable form of late, losing their fourth game without scoring in a row to Athletic Bilbao last Friday, while the visitors secured their third win of the season with a dramatic, 96th-minute winner against Elche.


Match preview

There was a general feeling of optimism around the Almeria camp ahead of their first season back in LaLiga for seven years.

An opening-day battle with Real Madrid, along with a famous victory over Sevilla two weeks later, were encouraging signs that Rubi's men would be able to compete in the Spanish top flight once again.

However, largely coinciding with the departure of star striker Umar Sadiq, the Andalusian side's form has since nosedived, falling to four consecutive defeats without scoring a single goal.

In fact, since the Nigerian striker's move to Real Sociedad, Almeria's expected goals per game has plummeted from an average of 1.30, down to just 0.35, highlighting just how much the side have lost in terms of attacking threat.

Offering very little going forward once again, as they fell to a 4-0 thumping at the hands of red-hot Athletic Club last weekend, Los Rojiblancos will be hoping to rediscover some attacking form as they return home after two consecutive away defeats.

Despite patchy form of their own, visitors Rayo Vallecano are one of the feel-good sides of the division, playing expansive, exciting football under the guidance of promising young coach Andoni Iraola.

Having held Barcelona to a 0-0 draw at Camp Nou on the opening weekend, securing their third consecutive clean sheet against Xavi's side, Los Franjirrojos executed a perfect smash-and-grab away to Espanyol, extending their unbeaten record against Catalan sides to six games.

Defeats to Mallorca and Osasuna followed, with successive home victories against Valencia and Elche taking their tally up to 10 points after seven games, a respectable return for a club operating on one of the tightest budgets in the division.

On-loan Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Camello grabbed his first Rayo goal in that dramatic win over Elche, while the terrific trio of Isi Palazon, Oscar Trejo and Alvaro Garcia were dangerous throughout once again.

After their tremendous start to last season, winning eight consecutive home games to start the campaign, Iraola's men were only dragged into a late relegation scrap due to a run of 13 games without a win.

Points in games like this will be key to a more comfortable stroll to safety this time around.

Almeria La Liga form:

Rayo Vallecano La Liga form:


Team News

Summer signing Gonzalo Melero has only managed 28 minutes for Almeria since his move from Levante, but could be in contention here, given his return to training during the week.

Similarly, full-back Alejandro Pozo missed that defeat to Athletic Bilbao, but has also returned to training and is now working with the squad. The 23-year-old might not be rushed back into the starting lineup, though, given the cover provided by Houboulang Mendes at right-back.

Furthermore, defenders Chumi and Alex Centelles, along with forward Marko Milovanovic, should miss out once again.

For the visitors, record signing Raul de Tomas is not allowed to play until January, given the timing of his signing outside of the transfer window.

Salvi Sanchez will be unavailable once more, with a calf injury.

Almeria possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Akieme, Babic, Ely, Kaiky, Mendes; Costa, Robertone, Eguaras; Embarba, Ramazani

Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Garcia, Catena, Lejeune, Balliu; Valentin, Comesana; Garcia, Trejo, Palazon; Camello


We say: Almeria 1-1 Rayo Vallecano

While it is tempting to side with Rayo in this one, given the attractive brand of football that they play, Iraola's men have been known to show some inconsistencies along the way.

Almeria are desperate for points after their torrid run of four games without a goal, so we expect them to be competitive, and ultimately grind out a point.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CBarcelona38284670205088
2Real Madrid38246875363978
3Atletico MadridAtletico38238770333777
4Real Sociedad38218951351671
5Villarreal381971259401964
6Real BetisBetis38179124641560
7Osasuna38158153742-553
8Athletic Bilbao38149154743451
9Mallorca38148163743-650
10GironaGirona381310155855349
11Rayo Vallecano381310154553-849
12Sevilla381310154754-749
13Celta Vigo381110174353-1043
14CadizCadiz381012163053-2342
15Valencia38119184245-342
16Getafe381012163445-1142
17Almeria38118194965-1641
RReal ValladolidValladolid38117203363-3040
REspanyol38813175269-1737
RElcheElche38510233067-3725
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