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With a depleted and seemingly quite weak squad, Jose Bordalas did what Jose Bordalas does and made Getafe effective as they gained a point against Athletic Club last week. They now welcome Rayo Vallecano to the Coliseum for a Communidad de Madrid derby affair.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Saturday 24th August, 2024 - UK – 8:30pm / US ET – 3:30pm / US PT – 12:30pm
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN have the exclusive rights to La Liga games in the USA, so Getafe vs Rayo Vallecano may be televised on one of their affiliated channels
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN+
GETAFE PREVIEW: THE AGGRESSION OF GETAFE
Jose Bordalas is known for playing something of an extreme version of ‘Cholismo’, which is the style of football that describes Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid. The Madrid-based club are often down at the bottom end of the fair play table but they began the season with just the one yellow card and that was to goal scorer Christantus Uche.
Uche, a defensive midfielder, had to fill in as a striker for Getafe last weekend, such is how small their squad is at the moment. In fact, Jose Bordalas could only name seven substitutes instead of ten and two of those were goalkeepers. Despite that, they stole a point at San Mames against an exciting Athletic side.
RAYO VALLECANO PREVIEW: CONTINUED SHOCKERS OF RAYO
Much like Getafe, there are off-field issues at Rayo Vallecano but there are always off-field issues at Rayo. Despite that, the Madrid-based club, with former assistant to Andoni Iraola, Inigo Perez, now at the helm on a permanent basis, and pulled off a shock 2-1 victory at Real Sociedad.
Jorge de Frutos and Sergio Camello both scored in the second-half for Rayo before Martin Zubimendi notched what proved to be a consolation deep into stoppage-time. It was ‘smash and grab’ for Rayo but, despite having just 34% of the ball, they did have more shots on target than La Real in that game.
GETAFE TEAM NEWS: SIGNINGS NEEDED
Despite the fact that Jose Bordalas could, as mentioned, only field seven subs with two of those being goalkeepers, Getafe don’t actually have any injuries or suspensions at the moment, showing that the problem is simply with the construction of the squad.
Master of adapting and pragmatism, though, Jose Bordalas is likely to persist with Christantus Uche up-front, especially with him scoring their equaliser in the Basque Country last weekend.
PREDICTED XI (4-1-4-1): David Soria; Jorge Iglesias, Djene, Omar Alderete, Diego Rico; Aberdin; Carles Perez, Luis Milla, Mauro Arambarri, Alex Sola; Uche
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
RAYO VALLECANO TEAM NEWS: FULLY FIT RAYO
Unlike Getafe, Rayo do have something that resembles a competitive squad for La Liga and they will be able to choose from a fully fit and available squad for this weekend’s derby clash.
Inigo Perez will seek to continue to play in the mould of Andoni Iraola with an intense and entertaining 4-4-2 system that relies on the directness of a front four of Jorge de Frutos, Isi Palazon, Randy Nteka and Adrian Embarba.
PREDICTED XI (4-4-2): Dani Cardenas; Ratiu, Lejeune, Mumin, Alfonso Espino; Jorge de Frutos, Unai Lopez, Oscar Valentin, Adrian Embarba; Nteka, Isi Palazon
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
GETAFE VS RAYO VALLECANO PREDICTION
This one really is an unpredictable clash with the only likelihood being that it turns into a fiery affair at the Coliseum. Getafe will seek to get the most out of their eleven once again but the fact that there are plenty of gaps in the squad means that surely there performance last week is and was not sustainable. Rayo, on the other hand, showed signs of returning to their former selves. That said, footballing entertainment might not be on the cards but drama and pantomime may well be.
GETAFE VS RAYO VALLECANO TIP: UNDER 2.5 GOALS