Granada v Rayo Vallecano

Granada vs Rayo Vallecano Preview

Granada will no doubt be keen to return to the home surroundings of their Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes after being subjected to a heavy 3-1 defeat in Madrid against Atletico Madrid in last weekend's season opener in La Liga which also made it three league matches without a win for the hosts in the domestic top flight.

Granada achieved automatic promotion from La Liga 2 at the end of last season's successful second tier campaign which also saw the hosts claim the league title as well, finishing three points ahead of runners-up, Las Palmas, so they will be keen to showcase the reason they've returned to the top flight on Monday night.

The hosts finished last season with a flourish as they signed off in impressive fashion by collecting three wins on the trot by way of victories against Lugo, Mirandes and Leganes respectively, and they carried this form into their pre-season matches as well.

Monday night's hosts registered four wins out of their five pre-season friendlies, three of which were attained on home soil at their Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes and despite last week's loss at Atletico Madrid, Granada have suffered just the one defeat in their previous 25 home games in all competition which is an incredible record.

Rayo Vallecano finished last season's La Liga campaign in a creditable 11th place and found themselves just four points shy of the top seven pack and the associated places for Europe by the end of the season which will give the visitors hope of emulating that finish this time around.

The visitors opened their account with a 2-0 win away from home at Almeria in last weekend's opening fixture of this new La Liga campaign and although they hit the road again for Monday night's clash with Granada, the visitors will feel they stand a decent chance of picking up something from this outing.

However, this may be easier said than done where Rayo Vallecano are concerned as they have managed to capture just five wins from their previous 19 matches overall in the Spanish top flight, four of which were gained on home soil at their Estadio de Vallecas.

On the road, Rayo Vallecano have recorded just one victory from their previous 10 outings on their travels which came in last week's win at Almeria but having also been dealt seven defeats as well within this period, Rayo Vallecano may well have their work cut out on Monday night.

Granada v Rayo Vallecano Verdict

Granada will be encouraged by Rayo Vallecano's struggles away from home in La Liga and having put together a solid sequence of results on home soil for some time now, Granada stand a good chance of picking up their first win of the season here.

Therefore, our main bet will be Granada win @ 2.75

Other side bets worth considering:

Granada win & Under 2.5 goals @ 4.75

Correct score: Granada 1-0 @ 7.00