Real Betis vs Rayo Vallecano Bet Builder Stats & Predictions
Real Betis vs Rayo Vallecano
Kick Off: Sunday 22 December, 20.00 GMT
Competition: La Liga
Watch live: Premier Sports 1
Two sides in the middle of the La Liga table will go in search of three points on Sunday evening when Real Betis host Rayo Vallecano to round off the action for 2024.
Betis might be suffering a touch from playing in the UEFA Europa Conference League and will be hoping for a stronger second half of the campaign, while Vallecano will be looking for some consistency to edge themselves towards the top half of the standings.
Can Betis round off 2024 with a win in front of their own faithful or will Rayo Vallecano pull off something of an upset and bring Christmas cheer to their fans?
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Match Stats: Both teams can score in a game full of corners
Two inconsistent teams meet in this match and it is hard to say with any assurance who will come out on top in the contest. Betis would be considered to be the better side but they have just played on Thursday evening so even though they have home advantage here, they have the short turnaround to contend with which is never easy.
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Betis have only won twice after Conference League matches this term so they are vulnerable, which will be music to the ears of a Rayo Vallecano side who could do with the points in this one. Rayo are undefeated in three matches but are only 3-3-3 for their away games this season so in terms of coming out on top, they probably aren’t ones to trust on their travels.
The trend that could be worth following here is both teams to score. That didn’t land in either match last season between the two but that looked to be an anomaly because the eight meetings before then both teams scored.
Bringing it on to this season, both teams have scored in five of the last six Betis matches and four of the last six Vallecano ones, with one that didn’t in that run coming against rock bottom Valencia. This is a match both will think they can win so both teams to score appeals in this one.
Corners are another trend to follow here. Vallecano actually sit fifth in La Liga for corners with 90 from their 17 matches while Betis are above halfway too with 81 from their 17 games.
You can get acceptable prices on Betis over 4.5 corners and Vallecano over 3.5 corners and both are comfortably over those totals for their average this season. Betis have covered in their last two in La Liga including against Barcelona while Vallecano have covered this line in their last three.
Predictions:
BTTS @ 1.95
Over 4.5 Betis corners @ 1.45
Over 3.5 Vallecano corners @ 1.80
Shot Stats: Expect the main men to shine in this contest
Real Betis are generally considered to be one of the main underachievers in LaLiga this season due to the talent that they have in their squad. One of those talents is the former Tottenham attacker Giovani Lo Celso, who has been starting to flourish in La Liga once again this term.
He is the top scorer for Betis on the campaign with seven goals and with Ezequiel Avila, one of the creative talents for Betis, being suspended for this match, the Argentina international is going to need to come to the party here. Lo Celso averages 1.5 shots on target in La Liga this season and has hit the target in his last two matches in the Spanish top flight. The 1.44 for him to fire another shot on goal looks big here.
Moving over to the Rayo Vallecano outfit, they are not what you would call prolific in the shots on target statistic anywhere but they are not shy of having a shot and their main man Sergio Camello could be the one to follow. He averaged 2.5 shots per 90 minutes in La Liga this season and had three shots against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. He looks decent value to get two more shots away at 1.62.
Predictions:
G.Lo Celso – 1+ shot on target @ 1.44
S.Camello – 2+ shots @ 1.62
Foul Stats: Serial offenders can be culpable of more fouls
While Vallecano might not show up on a cheat sheet for shots on target, they will be all over one for fouls with four of their players averaging more than two fouls per 90 minutes in LaLiga this term.
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One of those, Pathe Ciss, could well add more to his tally. Up against a classy midfield it might be that the only way of stopping the likes of Giovani Lo Celso, Isco and plenty of others is to foul them. Averaging 2.5 fouls per 90 minutes, Ciss doesn’t need too much in the way of invitation to draw the wrath of the referee and surprisingly given you would consider that Betis will have so much of the ball here, he is 1.73 to commit two or more fouls.
Ciss was only on the pitch for 30 minutes in his last game and still had enough time to commit a foul so with a longer role here he can double his tally. Betis rank very high this season for winning the ball in the opposition final third and one of the reasons for that is the pressing ability of Vitor Roque but with that comes the potential for him to commit fouls when that press is played around or he gets his challenge wrong.
Roque averages 1.8 fouls per 90 minutes this season and is 1.62 to commit two or more fouls here. His team are likely to target the Vallecano defence and look to win the ball as high as possible as regularly as they can. It may not take much for him to register two more fouls here.
Predictions:
P.Ciss – 2+ fouls committed @ 1.73
V.Roque – 2+ fouls committed @ 1.62
By: @AndysBetClubUK
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Quality Sport Images / Getty Images
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