After a defeat against “Betis” in the fourth round with a score of 0-1, Francisco congratulated his players for not giving in after the first goal, as happened in their record loss to “Atletico” Madrid just five days earlier. Additionally, the team’s boss stated that they had done everything possible to bring something positive into the international break. “Rayo Vallecano” hopes to return here just as they started the season, with a comfortable victory over one of the recent newcomers to La Liga. Exactly a pair of 2-0 victories over “Granada” and “Almeria,” both of which have returned to the top division of Spain in this decade, allowed them to maintain their mid-table position before the international break after consecutive defeats. Furthermore, seven of the 32 points in La Liga earned at home last season were against a trio of clubs that have since left the top league, suggesting that Francisco has a good chance of repeating the home victory over “Alav?s” (3-1), which he enjoyed while coaching “Elche” in 2021/22. Today, Trejo, Nteka, Mumin, Falcao, and Dmitrievsky, who has a back injury, will not be able to play.
In all four matches of “Alaves” this season, the home team has secured a victory with a one-goal advantage, and coach Luis Garcia Plaza will want to break this pattern immediately, as he hopes to build on the home victory of 1-0 over “Valencia,” which marked the club’s best start in La Liga since the 2018/19 season. Following that success, Garcia admitted to seeing “good signs” in the competitive spirit and fight shown by his players and was glad to have added six points to their overall tally. In this campaign, “Alaves” could have a modest goal — just to secure their place in the division for the next season. Still, if they want to do it comfortably, they will have to perform better away from home than they did last year in the Segunda. Babazorro scored only three points in ten away games against clubs that finished in the top half of La Liga 2 last season. Sedlar and Simeone are out of the game today due to injury.