Matchday 16 of La Liga will see Valencia take on Rayo Vallecano on December 7 at the Mestalla Stadium. Valencia vs. Rayo Vallecano: prediction, betting odds, and statistics.
Predicted lineups for Valencia vs. Rayo Vallecano
Valencia (5-4-1): Giorgi Mamardashvili – Dimitri Foulquier, Jose Luis Gaya, Cesar Tárrega, Yarek Gonsiorowski, Cristhian Mosquera – Javier Guerra, Enzo Barrenechea, Diego Lopez, Luis Rioja – Hugo Duro.
Rayo Vallecano (4-4-2): Augusto Batalla – Florian Lejeune, Abdul Mumin, Andrei Rațiu, Pep Chavarría – Oscar Valentín, Isi Palazón, Álvaro García Rivera, Pathé Ciss – Randy Nteka, Adri Embarba.
Each team's starting lineup from their previous match in this tournament is listed.
Valencia
The team didn't celebrate their second victory in La Liga 2024/25 for long, which they secured at home against Betis (4-2). In the last round, Valencia visited Mallorca and suffered another defeat – 1-2. This marked their 7th loss after 13 matches in the current championship. Ruben Baraja's side remains in the relegation zone, trailing the safety of 17th place by 3 points, with two games in hand.
- At least two goals have been scored in 8 of Valencia's last 10 games in La Liga.
- The team hasn't scored more than one goal in 9 of their last 12 home matches in the league.
- Valencia hasn't won the second half in 19 of their last 21 La Liga matches (8 draws and 11 losses).
Rayo Vallecano
The Madrid side has lost their last three matches, a first since February this year. Iñigo Pérez's team was defeated away by Sevilla (0-1), and at home by Las Palmas (1-3) and Athletic (1-2). This has affected their league position, dropping to 13th place, just three points above the relegation zone. Notably, Rayo Vallecano's games average only 2.14 goals, ranking 17th in La Liga for scoring.
- The number "1" has appeared in the final score of Rayo's last seven league matches.
- Rayo Vallecano failed to score in 10 of their last 13 away games in La Liga.
- In 12 of their last 16 away matches in the league, the first half ended in a draw.
Valencia vs. Rayo Vallecano: Match Prediction
Valencia urgently needs to start winning as they are stuck among the bottom three. They need to do so primarily at home, where they have earned 8 out of 10 points in the current championship. In their last five home matches in La Liga, Valencia lost only once, securing victories against mid-table teams Girona and Betis, and drawing with Villarreal and Osasuna. As we can see, Ruben Baraja's side is quite capable of taking points from opponents fighting for European competition spots.
Rayo Vallecano, despite securing four wins, can only highlight their victory over Real Sociedad. Yet, San Sebastián's team was playing poorly at the season's start. Additionally, note that Rayo has won only two of their last 16 away matches in La Liga (5 draws and 9 losses). Moreover, Valencia has a favorable head-to-head record – in their last 12 encounters, the team has avoided defeat 10 times (3 wins and 7 draws). At Mestalla, Valencia has not lost to Rayo Vallecano in seven consecutive league meetings (3 wins and 4 draws).
My prediction – Valencia with a handicap (0)
