Surprisingly, the bookies have placed Rayo Vallecano as underdogs against Espanyol , an away win is valued at 3.5 odds, but backing Rayo Vallecano to avoid defeat (+0.5) at 1.55 odds is a safer option to bet on, and it carries good value.

Rayo Vallecano continue their escape from the red zone when they visit Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium on Thursday.

The visitors have seen improvements over the past few weeks, they have lost just twice in their last five, picking up draws to avoid defeat on three occasions, with Atletico Madrid and Deportivo Alaves picking up marginal one nil victories against them.

Andoni Iraiola's men started the season in brilliant fashion, but they lost so many players through injuries, which saw them drop to the bottom half of the table, With those players returning, Rayo Vallecano would be looking to move up into the top half of the table, and with two outstanding games, they are just eight points away from tenth placed Valencia.

Rayo Vallecano has the better defensive record between these teams, and that is always a big edge in midtable games like these.

Espanyol on the other hand have seen their performances dip in recent weeks, they have now lost two of their last three games, scoring just two goals during this period.

Rayo Vallecano have now won the last four meetings between these teams, scoring two or more goals in two of those games, and keeping three clean sheets in four of those games against Espanyol.

The visitors have already beaten Espanyol this season and would be looking to do the double over them, Rayo Vallecano have much to play for and it's very unlikely they would drop points here, but this is an away game, so backing Rayo Vallecano to win or draw (+0.5) at 1.55 odds is a very good bet in this fixture