Following their promotion last season, Rayo Vallecano will continue their search for a first La Liga point of the campaign on Sunday, when they welcome Granada to the Estadio de Vallecas.
Having started with consecutive defeats, the hosts have immediately sunk to the foot of the La Liga table, although that could quickly change, while their visitors arrive on the back of two draws from their opening matches.
Match preview
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Rayo Vallecano earned promotion back to the top tier last season, as they managed to keep hold of a playoff spot, and dumped Leganes out with a 5-1 aggregate victory in the semi-final.
Los Franjirrojos then overturned a first-leg deficit to defeat Girona 3-2 on aggregate in the final, and they now return to the Spanish top flight with the aim of avoiding an immediate drop.
Their campaign has not got off to the best start, as they were thrashed 3-0 away against Sevilla on the opening day, with Youssef En-Nesyri converting an early penalty before Erik Lamela sealed the result with a second-half brace.
Andoni Iraola's men then suffered a second straight defeat last time out, as Mikel Oyarzabal scored from the penalty spot in a 1-0 victory for Real Sociedad.
While their tough opening schedule makes two defeats somewhat excusable, Los Franjirrojos will be keen to quickly get off the mark, as they look to avoid being stuck at the foot of the division, with only three other sides yet to collect a point.
They take on a Granada side who have also had a relatively slow start to the campaign, having collected two points from their two games.
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Granada impressed for the majority of last season, finding themselves in a battle for spots in the top seven, but a poor run of form in the final stretch saw them fall to a ninth-placed finish.
After finishing seventh in the previous campaign, that may have come as a slight disappointment to the Nazaries, who will look to bounce back in impressive fashion and secure a European spot this time around.
They travelled to take on Europa League champions Villarreal on the opening day, and earned a commendable point as they held the Yellow Submarine to a goalless draw.
Robert Moreno's side then hosted Valencia, and they led for the majority thanks to Luis Suarez's opener until they were pegged back in the 88th minute, as Carlos Soler converted a penalty to snatch a point for the visitors.
The Nazaries will now look to put their first win on the board to head into the international break with a commendable tally of five points from the opening three games.
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Team News
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Rayo Vallecano come in with a clean bill of health, as Jose Angel Pozo recently returned following a setback in the summer.
Randy Nteka and Andres Martin have each started one game this season, and Iraola will have the tough decision of who will lead the line on Sunday.
After a commendable performance against Real Sociedad, they are unlikely to make any major changes, with new winger Martin Merquelanz set to keep his place after arriving on loan.
Granada boast an experienced spine, with German Sanchez playing at the heart of a back four and talented French midfielder Maxime Gonalons shielding the defence.
The line should be led by Carlos Bacca, who has enjoyed successful spells at Club Brugge, Sevilla, AC Milan and Villarreal over the course of his career, while also surpassing 50 international caps for Colombia.
He will be supported by his compatriot Luis Suarez, who is a key man for Moreno's side on the left of a front three, having opened his account for the season against Valencia.
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Balliu, Saveljich, Catena, F Garcia; Valentin, Comesana; Merquelanz, Trejo, A Garcia; Nteka
Granada possible starting lineup:
Escandell; Foulquier, Duarte, Sanchez, Neva; Milla, Gonalons, Monchu; Suarez, Bacca, Machis
We say: Rayo Vallecano 0-1 Granada
While Rayo Vallecano made major improvements for the second league game, limiting a strong Real Sociedad outfit to very few chances, we do not see them springing a surprise on Sunday.
Granada boast the stronger of the two squads, and the hosts have failed to threaten going forward so far, meaning one goal for Moreno's side could make the difference if they can break through a resilient back line.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rayo Vallecano win with a probability of 49.4%. A draw had a probability of 26.3% and a win for Granada had a probability of 24.27%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rayo Vallecano win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.06%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.64%) and 2-1 (9.14%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.39%), while for a Granada win it was 0-1 (8.4%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 1.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Rayo Vallecano would win this match.
