La Liga outfit Rayo Vallecano will head to Poland for Thursday’s Conference League meeting with Jagiellonia Bialystok at the Stadion Miejski.
The home side head into the penultimate matchday in ninth spot, while Rayo are one point adrift in 12th place in the league phase.
Match preview
Jagiellonia Bialystok may be just outside the automatic last-16 qualification positions, but they are level on eight points with three teams in the top eight of the league phase.
The Polish outfit kicked off the Conference League main draw with a narrow win over Hamrun Spartans, before they played out 1-1 away draws with Strasbourg and Shkendija.
A return to Poland coincided with a return to winning ways in the league phase, with Afimico Pululu’s effort proving enough to see off KuPS via a narrow 1-0 scoreline at the end of November.
Unfortunately for Adrian Siemieniec’s side, they have followed that narrow victory with a three-game winless run, drawing 0-0 with Zaglebie Lubin before losing to GKS Katowice and Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza in the Polish Cup and Ekstraklasa, respectively.
With all three of those matches taking place away from home, Jagiellonia will be looking forward to returning to the familiar surroundings of the Stadion Miejski, where they have recorded six wins in their past seven competitive matches (L1).
The hosts can also draw inspiration from the fact that they are one of five teams yet to concede a goal at home in the league phase.
© Imago
Rayo will be satisfied with their efforts so far in their first European campaign since they reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in 2000-01.
The Spanish club avoided defeat in their opening three matches of the Conference League main draw, recording home victories against Shkendija and Lech Poznan, either side of a 2-2 draw with Hacken on matchday two.
Rayo’s unbeaten league phase record was ended in last month’s meeting with Slovan Bratislava, despite taking the lead in Slovakia through Fran Perez.
Slovan Bratislava scored twice in three second-half minutes to condemn Inigo Perez’s side to a narrow defeat, leaving them a point adrift of the top eight with two games left to play against Jagiellonia and Drita.
Los Franjirrojos will travel to Poland on the back of a narrow 1-0 La Liga defeat against Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium, meaning they have now gone five consecutive away matches without winning in regulation time.
Rayo have failed to score in three of those five games, although they have managed to trouble the scorers in all six of their European fixtures this season (including qualifying).
Jagiellonia Bialystok Conference League form:
W D D W
Jagiellonia Bialystok form (all competitions):
W W W D L L
Rayo Vallecano Conference League form:
D W W L
Rayo Vallecano form (all competitions):
D D L D W L
Team News
© Imago / Gonzales Photo
Jagiellonia midfielder Jesus Imaz is available for selection after serving a one-match ban on matchday four.
Midfielder Taras Romanczuk and attacker Oskar Pietuszewski could come into Siemieniec’s thinking for Thursday’s fixture.
Palulu will continue to lead the line for the home side, having scored 12 goals in 26 competitive matches this season.
As for Rayo, there are injury concerns over Abdul Mumin, Randy Nteka, Pedro Diaz, Oscar Trejo, and Alemao.
Pacha Espino may also be absent from the matchday squad after missing the last two matches due to personal reasons.
Perez is set to freshen up his side with a few changes, with Ivan Balliu, Jozhua Vertrouwd and Sergio Camello all in contention to start.
Jagiellonia Bialystok possible starting lineup:
Abramowicz; Wojtuszek, Stojinovic, Vital, Wdowik; Flach, Romanczuk, Imaz; Pozo, Pietuszewski, Palulu
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Batalla; Balliu, Lejeune, Vertrouwd, Chavarria; Lopez, Gumbau; De Frutos, Palazon, Perez; Camello
We say: Jagiellonia Bialystok 2-2 Rayo Vallecano
Jagiellonia will be wary of Thursday’s tricky test aganst La Liga oppositon, but they have proven to be a tough team to beat in the league phase, and we think the hosts will maintain that undefeated record with a hard-fought draw against Rayo.
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