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Villarreal pushing hard for UCL spot
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Visitors scoring freely
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Rayo have lost five of last seven
Wolfsburg gave us the perfect start in Germany yesterday, but then the pressure got too much, and Die Wölfe inexplicably crumbled in a 2-1 home defeat to already-relegated Hertha Berlin. Apparently there was some other disappointment in the Bundesliga yesterday too.
We'll wrap up a frustrating week in Spain, because Champions League-chasing Villarreal are in action away to Rayo Vallecano, and the Yellow Submarine hope to keep the pressure on Real Sociedad in the race for fourth spot.
Quique Setien had big shoes to fill when he replaced Unai Emery at the Ceramica, but he has kept the team competitive, and if Real Sociedad lose at Atletico Madrid and Villarreal win in Vallecas, then suddenly the race for fourth goes down to the final game.
Villarreal are certainly in form - they have won five of their last six games in La Liga, scoring 17 goals in the process. They have won four of their last six on the road, including a remarkable victory against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
Rayo have had another impressive campaign under inspirational and in-demand coach Andoni Iraola, and they have achieved safety with room to spare. However, they have lost momentum in the closing weeks of the campaign, losing five of their last seven matches. That losing run included a bizarre 4-0 loss at rock-bottom Elche.
I'll use the Bet Builder to back Villarreal/Draw, Over 1.5 Goals and Over 7.5 Corners at 11/102.11. Rayo's last 12 games have featured at least two goals, as have Villarreal's last 17. Both sides' games in the league average over nine corners, so that gives us a cushion.