Rayo Vallecano vs Granada CF preview - Jemez looking for calm

Rayo Vallecano coach Paco Jemez is eyeing victory over Granada on Saturday as he believes it will give his team a sense of calm with regards to their position in the Primera Division table.

The Madrid side edged out of the relegation zone a fortnight ago with a last-gasp 2-2 draw at fellow strugglers Real Betis, but are only a point clear and could find themselves back in the bottom three if they fail to beat Lucas Alcaraz's side and other results go against them.

However, a win could take them up to 14th in the table.

"It's a very important game because it's another chance to put ourselves in a different position," the coach told a press conference.

"The number of games are getting fewer and fewer, so time is running out and so are our possibilities. If we win the game then the pressure on us will ease, we will get into a better position in the table and the team will finally compensate for wasting so many opportunities."

Granada are five places above Rayo in the table and four points better off, having won three of their last six games.

The Andalusians have not won at Rayo since both teams returned to the top flight in 2011 but have an impressive away record this term in the league, losing just twice on the road.

The match is bound to be an emotional day for Granada forward Piti, who is returning to the club where he spent six years for the first time since leaving Rayo in the summer.

Piti joined Rayo in 2007 when the club was in the Segunda Division B and won two promotions in his stint there.

Jemez was keen to show his appreciation for his former charge, declaring: "He has been one of the best Rayo players in the club's history.

"He is very much loved at the club, even though he no longer wears the club's colours. For him it's not going to be a special day so much as a strange one."

Saul Niguez is suspended after accumulating five yellow cards and will miss only his second game of the season.

In addition to the long-term injured pair of Jose Carlos and Seba Fernandez, the midfielder is Rayo's only absentee. Defender Ze Castro returns to the squad, but Jemez admitted he is unlikely to start.

Granada will be without the injured Dani Benitez and the suspended Diego Buonanotte.