Rayo Vallecano vs Celta Vigo Prediction & Picks - LaLiga

Prediction published on 1/8/25, 3:00 PM  by Tyler Doty | Modified on 1/9/25 at 8:04 AM in LaLiga Picks

Rayo Vallecano and Celta Vigo are neck-and-neck in the mid-table of La Liga, with 11th-placed Celta Vigo just a point clear of 12th-placed Rayo Vallecano ahead of their trip to the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas on Matchday 19. Unbeaten for more than a month, Rayo Vallecano, who qualified for the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey following their solid performance at Liga 2 side Racing Club Ferrol (1-3) last weekend, return to La Liga, where the Madrid club have just picked up 6 points at Valencia (0-1), Real Madrid (3-3), Villarreal (1-1) and Betis Sevilla (1-1). Vallecano's confidence is high, and they'll be hoping to keep up the momentum by picking up 3 points against the 5th-worst-performing away team.

Indeed, Celta Vigo have not shone away from their Balaidos stadium, with a dismal record of 1 draw and 6 defeats in their 8 Spanish league outings. The Galician club have lost 2 away games in Catalonia against Espanyol (3-1) and in Andalusia against Sevilla (1-0). Since that defeat on December 14th, Claudio Giraldez's side have shone at home against Real Sociedad (2-0), before snatching a place in the round to 16 away to Liga 2 side Racing Santander (2-3) with a great deal of luck. Benefiting from a numerical superiority as early as the 35th minute, Vigo won at Santander in the dying moments of the game thanks to a Castro csc (86th) and a Gonzalez goal in added time (90th+2).