Rayo Vallecano vs Malaga preview - Rayo out for revenge

Posted Friday, March 20, 2015 by PA

Rayo Vallecano striker Manucho says his team will be gunning for revenge when they host Malaga on Saturday.

Paco Jemez's side were thrashed 4-0 at La Rosaleda back in October but go into the game at the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas in confident mood after winning their last three home matches.

"The truth is that we are really looking forward to playing the game and getting revenge for the first game with them," Manucho told a press conference.

"We played very badly there and we want to put things right now."

Rayo came from behind to beat Granada 3-1 last weekend in Vallecas, following home successes over Villarreal and Levante, and Manucho admits his side are now full of confidence and want to improve on their current league position of 12th, as they are just four points behind Athletic Bilbao in eighth.

"The win over Granada was important because we started the season very badly at home and now we are starting to pick up the pace," he said.

"I hope we can continue on this run. The coach has always transmitted his confidence to us, we have to keep looking up the table, and we're going to keep on trying until the end of the season.

"I think that the team's confidence and attitude is very important. We have always had a good attitude. Of course we've had a couple of low points this season, but we have recovered and we are trying to keep this good run going."

Jemez will have a full squad available for the match, with the exception of goalkeeper Tono, who is still nursing a muscle problem.

Malaga's only certain absentee is Roberto Chen, although Juanpi, Javi Guerra and Sergio Sanchez are still doubts after missing last Sunday's 2-0 win over Cordoba.

And goalkeeper Carlos Kameni hopes his team replicate that latest performance in Vallecas than their last away outing, a 1-0 defeat at struggling Granada.

He told a press conference: "In Vallecas we want our fans to see the Malaga we saw against Cordoba and we want to bring the three points home. We played phenomenally well against them earlier in the season.

"We know that Rayo like to play nice football and have possession, they are a very dangerous team because they play in a very open way and can cause you damage, so we're going to press them as much as we can and try to not let them play."