Rayo Vallecano vs. Girona

Vallecas, key to recovering good results

Míchel Sánchez's men fell with a lot of pride in Milan, and in the last round of the league they came up against a Sevilla team that ended up getting the victory in the last minute. Now, before saying goodbye to the Champions League next Wednesday at Montilivi with another big game, against Arsenal, they want to get back to winning ways in the league to get back to the good line of results and stay in the fight for Europe. They will face an irregular but very competitive Rayo Vallecano, who have gone six games without losing. It is true that in the middle they lost in the Copa del Rey against Real Sociedad, but in the league they drew last week at Osasuna (1-1), and before that they had achieved a draw in three more matches and a victory against Valencia and Celta, the last match played at home. In Vallecas this season they have not been completely solid, but they have taken points from big teams like Madrid and Atleti, and they also came very close against Barça. Míchel, in fact, has explained that they are one of the most intense teams in the league and that they will have to play at a very high pace.

Rayo Vallecano's own names

Íñigo Pérez is celebrating his first full season on the Rayo bench. He landed last year in a compromised situation and pulled it off, and this year he has the team with 26 points, very close to the European positions. The team is trying to be protagonist with the ball, but also proposing a high tempo and very physical game where the value of the collective has a great weight, the players from Madrid are managing to play a good role. De Frutos, with four goals, is the top scorer, followed by Isi Palazon, Unai Lopez and Camello with three. Only five teams have conceded less than them (23), with experienced defenders like Lejeune, and despite the fact that the goal scoring is very distributed, they do not have bad offensive records either (23).

Precedents

The two teams have met on a total of 27 occasions, with a slight advantage of twelve wins for Girona, ten for Madrid and seven draws. In the first round, both teams drew goalless at Montilivi and, in fact, in the seven times they have met in the First Division, Girona have always scored. Last year, two goals from Dovbyk and Sávio allowed the team to come from behind and take the three points. In Vallecas, Girona has found it difficult to win, especially during their time in the silver category, and in total they have accumulated five wins, two draws and six defeats.

Míchel's pre-match press conference: “we have the squad to fight for Europe”

Review everything Míchel had to say before the match against Rayo Vallecano. The coach spoke about the mental importance of going from a great European night at the San Siro to the reality of the league, and also about the Club's aspirations in the domestic competition.