Preview: Jagiellonia Bialystok vs Rayo Vallecano – predictions, team news, lineups

La Liga side Rayo Vallecano travel to Poland for Thursday’s Conference League encounter with Jagiellonia Bialystok at the Stadion Miejski.

The home team enters the penultimate matchday in ninth place, while Rayo are one point behind 12th place in the championship phase.

Match Preview

Jagiellonia Bialystok may be just outside the automatic qualifying positions for the round of 16, but they are tied on eight points with three teams in the top eight in the championship stage.

The Polish team started the Conference League main draw with a narrow victory against Hamrun Spartans, before playing out 1-1 draws away against Strasbourg and Shkendija.

The return to Poland coincided with a return to winning ways in the league stage, with Afimico Pululu’s effort proving enough to defeat KuPS via a narrow 1-0 scoreline in late November.

Unfortunately for Adrian Siemieniec’s side, they followed that narrow victory with a three-game winless run, drawing 0-0 against Zaglebie Lubin before losing to GKS Katowice and Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza in the Polish Cup and Ekstraklasa, respectively.

With these three matches taking place away, Jagiellonia will be looking forward to returning to the familiar surroundings of Stadion Miejski, where they have recorded six victories in their last seven competitive matches (L1).

The hosts can also take inspiration from the fact that they are one of five teams yet to concede a goal at home in the league stage.

Rayo will be pleased with their efforts so far in their first European campaign since reaching the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in 2000-01.

The Spanish club avoided defeat in their first three matches in the Conference League main draw, recording home wins against Shkendija and Lech Poznan, either side of a 2-2 draw against Hacken on matchday two.

Rayo’s unbeaten league record ended in last month’s encounter with Slovan Bratislava, although they took the lead in Slovakia through Fran Perez.

Slovan Bratislava scored twice in three minutes in the second half to condemn Inigo Perez’s side to a narrow defeat, leaving them one point outside the top eight with two matches remaining against Jagiellonia and Drita.

Los Franjirrojos travel to Poland after a 1-0 La Liga defeat to Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium, meaning they have now gone five consecutive away matches without winning in normal time.

Rayo have failed to score in three of those five matches, although they have managed to trouble the scorers in their six European outings this season (including qualifying).

Jagiellonia Bialystok Conference League Form:

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Jagiellonia Bialystok form (all competitions):

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Rayo Vallecano Conference League form:

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Rayo Vallecano form (all competitions):

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Team News

© Imago / Gonzales Photo

Jagiellonia midfielder Jesus Imaz is available for selection after serving a one-match suspension on matchday four.

Midfielder Taras Romanczuk and striker Oskar Pietuszewski could enter Siemieniec’s consideration for Thursday’s match.

Palulu will continue to lead the home side, having scored 12 goals in 26 competitive matches this season.

As for Rayo, there are injury concerns regarding Abdul Mumin, Randy Nteka, Pedro Diaz, Oscar Trejo and Alemao.

Pacha Espino could also be missing from the matchday squad after missing the last two matches due to personal reasons.

Perez is set to freshen up his squad with some changes, with Ivan Balliu, Jozhua Vertrouwd and Sergio Camello all in contention to start.

Jagiellonia Bialystok possible starting composition:

Abramovich; Wojtuszek, Stojinovic, Vital, Wdowik; Flach, Romanczuk, Imaz; Pozo, Pietuszewski, Palulu

Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:

Battle; Dance, Lyese, Parole, Chavaria; Wolf, Gumbau; Fruits, Palazon, Pérez; Callo

We, the men: Jagelonia Bilystok 2-2 Rayo Vallecano

Jagiellonia will be wary of Thursday’s tricky test against a La Liga opponent, but they have proven to be a difficult team to beat in the league stage, and we believe the hosts will maintain that unbeaten record with a hard-fought draw against Rayo.

For data analysis of most likely outcomes, scores and more for this match, please click here.