Rayo Vallecano will travel to fourth-tier Real Avila for Thursday’s second-round encounter in the Copa del Rey. 

The top-flight visitors will be looking to avoid an upset by ending their four-game winless run in all competitions. 

Match preview

Real Avila are competing in round two for the second consecutive season after coming through a closely-fought tie against Aviles Industrial.

They played out a goalless draw in regulation time, before Vitolo netted a 108th-minute winner in extra time to eliminate Avila’s third-tier opponents.

The difficulty levels will increase dramatically for Thursday’s clash against a Rayo side that finished in eighth spot in La Liga last season.

Avila have experienced an inconsistent run of form in the lead-up to their second-round tie, having won just one of their previous five matches (D2, L2).

Despite finding wins hard to come by, Avila are still in the playoff hunt in Group One of the Segunda Federacion, with one point separating them from the final playoff spot.

While they may be the clear underdogs against Rayo, the hosts can take confidence from the fact that they have avoided defeat in all seven of their home games this season (W4, D3).

Rayo Vallecano are having to contend with the demands of playing in three competitions, with Inigo Perez‘s side competing in the Conference League alongside their La Liga and Copa del Rey obligations.

The team from Vallecas has found wins hard to come by in recent weeks, having drawn three and lost one of their last four games since beating Lech Poznan in the Conference League on November 6.

Rayo played out goalless draws with Real Madrid and Real Oviedo in La Liga, before they suffered their first European defeat of the season in last week’s away clash with Slovan Bratislava.

They then missed out on the chance to finally return to winning ways in Monday’s league meeting with Valencia, as Nobel Mendy saw his first Rayo goal cancelled out by Diego Lopez‘s second-half effort in a 1-1 draw.

Los Franjirrojos will now turn their focus to the Copa del Rey, with the visitors looking for another strong performance against a lower-league side after hammering sixth-tier Yuncos 6-1 in October’s first-round tie.

Rayo will be looking to avoid their first second-round exit since losing to Tenerife in the 2017-18 season, as they bid to embark on a run similar to the one that saw them reach the semi-final stage in 2021-22. 

Real Avila Copa del Rey form:

W 

Real Avila form (all competitions):

W L D W D L 

Rayo Vallecano Copa del Rey form:

W

Rayo Vallecano form (all competitions):

L W D D L D

Team News

© Imago

Samuel Rodriguez will start in goal for the hosts, with the former Atletico Madrid academy player bracing himself for a busy night.

The shot-stopper is likely to be shielded by a back four made up of Gerard Urbina, Carlos Pascual, Sebastien Lauture and Fer Diaz. 

In the final third, Gonzalo Serrano will offer one of the main attacking threats, having scored six goals in 13 league appearances this season. 

Real Avila possible starting lineup:

Rodriguez; Urbina, Pascual, Lauture, Diaz; Ruiz, Sisse, Vitolo; Carrion, Sarr, Serrano 

Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:

Cardenas; Balliu, Ciss, Vertrouwd, Espino; Gumbau, Valentin; Perez, Palazon, Garcia; Camello

We say: Real Avila 1-3 Rayo Vallecano

Rayo made light work of their first-round tie, and while it is likely to be tighter game than that 6-1 success, we believe that the visitors will showcase their extra quality to ease to victory in the second-round fixture.