Real Sociedad vs Rayo Vallecano prediction 18.08.2024 | La Liga

• Competition: La Liga
• Date: Sunday, 18th August, 2024
• Kickoff: 18:00 UK / 19:00 CEST
• Venue: Reale Arena (San Sebastian)

On Sunday afternoon, Real Sociedad and Rayo Vallecano will face off against each other in the first La Liga round at Reale Arena in San Sebastian.

Real Sociedad ware one of the top six or seven teams in Spain in recent years. In the last four, they managed to secure Europe and advance to the knockout phase every time. Last year, they did in the Champions League, but PSG eventually eliminated them. However, in La Liga, the Basque team finished 6th and secured "only" Europe League next year. For this season, their goal must be to return to the top four teams and secure the Champions League. And looking at their roster, we think they are definitely capable of doing so. Before the start of the season, the bookies see Real Sociedad as the fifth-best team in Spain, offering odds around 25.5 for them to win the title.

After arriving at La Liga in 2021/22, Rayo Vallecano finished 12th in the following two seasons. However, last year was pretty bad, as they finished in 17th place, just outside the relegation zone. They won just 38 points, which is not enough for survival in most seasons. Luckily for them, the bottom three teams (Granada, Almeria, and Cadiz) were terrible, and Rayo survived. Right now, before the start of the league, according to bookies, Rayo Vallecano are the fifth favorite for relegation, behind Valladolid, Getafe, Las Palmas, and Leganes.

Real Sociedad vs Rayo Vallecano pick: Under 2.5 goals

Last year, Real Sociedad were one of the better teams for this type of bet with more than 60% of their La Liga games finishing with fewer than three goals. Their defense was on point, and with 39 goals allowed, they were the 3rd-best team in that category, only behind Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. However, offensively, they were by far the worst team of those top six teams. For example, they scored ten fewer than Bilbao, which was the next worst offensive team in those top six. So, a good defense and mediocre offense make Real Sociedad pretty good for this type of bet.

Last year, Rayo's offense was atrocious. With 29 scored goals in 38 rounds - 0.76 per game, they were the second-worst in the league, only above Cadiz. Luckily for them, their defense kept them away from relegation. Additionally, away from home, Rayo had by far the lowest goal-per-game average in La Liga at only 1.7 per game!

In the previous h2h game, we saw a goalless draw in a match where we saw only three shots on goal (combined). Also, these teams were combined for just 0.32xG for the entire 90 minutes.

Considering all the above, an under 2.5 goals bet should be the safest option for this La Liga tie.