Points are Priceless at Both Ends of La Liga

Rayo Vallecano vs Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid make the short journey to the city’s district of Vallecas on Saturday in what promises to be a crunch match in La Liga.

Hosts Rayo Vallecano are deep in relegation trouble, but coach Michel has recently dragged them up to a position where they have a good chance of survival, and they will fight tooth and nail for every point. Before back-to-back defeats, ten points from four games brought Rayo’s season back from the dead. They are now just within one of safety, but consecutive 2-1 reversals to Espanyol and Leganes means a third consecutive loss may shift the momentum against Michel’s men.

Meanwhile, Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid are still in the title race. But at seven points behind Barcelona, they find their La Liga 2019 betting odds drifting alarmingly after they lost two league games on the run. Those defeats came at a terrible time for Atleti as the title race heats up…so expect to see a fierce battle at the Campo de Futbol.

Talking Points

Both teams rely heavily on one hitman

Rayo head coach Michel needs to lift his players again, especially after they led Espanyol at half-time, only to lose to a 95^th-minute winner. Their survival hopes depend heavily on the continued form of Raul de Tomas, currently on loan from Real Madrid, who is top-scoring on nine goals.

The 24-year-old is a hero in Vallecas, having scored 24 goals to fire Rayo to promotion from the Segunda Division last season. Equally comfortable with both feet and with a fine shot on him, De Tomas is accomplished in the top flight, recently destroying Celta Vigo with a hat-trick in Rayo’s 4-2 win. Los Blancos may have been wondering why they shipped him out so readily after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and injury to Gareth Bale, but they will be hoping he does a job on Atleti at the weekend.

Rayo’s next highest scorer is Alvaro Garcia with three goals.

Antoine Griezmann eyes to step up and help Atletico Madrid in beating Rayo Vallecano in upcoming La Liga match — Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann celebrates after scoring a goal against Real Madrid in recent Madrid Derby

A number of players have two goals for Atletico Madrid, but only one has more and that is, of course, Antoine Griezmann. The World Cup winner hasn’t been quite as prolific as last season so far, bagging 11 goals to date, but he still provides a dangerous threat to any defence.

And it’s their own rearguard which the Rojiblancos continue to rely on, conceding the lowest number of goals again, a miserly 17.

Atleti’s big-match sequence

Simeone’s men arrive at the Campo de Futbol still battle-weary from a huge game: a 3-1 defeat to Los Blancos in the Madrid derby was their first loss at home this season. That result really hurt Atleti fans, convinced they were ready to climb out of the shadows of their old foes and take the title of ‘Kings of Madrid’. After that bitter blow, it’s crucial that the Rojiblancos get back to winning ways without delay. Anything other than a win on Saturday could pretty much spell the end of their title challenge, depending on the other La Liga 2019 results this weekend. With Barcelona at home to Valladolid and Real Madrid entertaining Girona, Simeone’s team can’t expect any favours.

Then Atleti face one of the irresistible forces of European football when Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo and all, are the opponents in the Champions League match of the week. They can’t afford to go into that one on the back of a poor performance.

History

In the 23 games contested by these two sides since 1994, Atleti had much the better of things, winning 14, losing four, and there have been five draws.

Rayo haven’t won any of their last three games against Saturday’s opponents. The last meeting between these two resulted in a 1-0 win for Atleti at the start if this season, courtesy of a Griezmann goal. Who else?

But there is a glimmer of hope for Michel in Atletico Madrid’s away form. They have drawn six from 11, with two defeats and only three wins.

Betting Tip

	Rayo Vallecano vs Atletico Madrid	Atletico Madrid, Asian Handicap -0.75 @ 1.96
	February 16, 23:15 (GMT+8)

The visitors are odds-on favourites to leave Vallecas with three points at pre-match SBOBET odds of 1.76, while the draw is available at 3.65, and Rayo 4.40 to spring a big surprise.

This is a crucial game for both, and one of them could end up with a three-match losing streak. Michel’s men have been hard to beat on home soil and Atleti struggle to win away, but the hosts have not fared well against La Liga’s big clubs, and I think Atletico Madrid may be just too good for them.

0-1 looks a likely outcome at 5.20, while 0-2 is at 7.40 if you think Atleti may have a more comfortable afternoon.