Espanyol vs Rayo Vallecano
La Liga, Saturday, 1:15pm ET

Play: 3% Over 2 Goals
Odds at Time of Release: +101
Line Parameter: Playable to -120

Espanyol managed to escape from Madrid with a point in that goal-less draw against Atletico Madrid, but they are now the only team in the La Liga to not have scored after 3 matches. But I do expect that to change when they will host Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. 

Rayo Vallecano took an early lead in their home match against Barcelona but ended up losing by 2-1 thanks to a late goal by Dani Olmo. Prior to that they played for a quiet goal-less draw against Getafe on the road, and they actually beat Real Sociedad by 2-1 on the road in Match Day 1. This team can score, they are quite good up front and they just got better with the addition of Colombian midfield maestro James Rodriguez, who is expected to make his debut on Saturday (most likely from the bench as a sub). 

The last time these two met was in the 2022/23 season, where the two H2H matches produced 3 and 2 goals respectively, and this is a match-up that has traditionally produced quite a few goals, with 14 of L/17 matches producing 2 goals or more, and 11 of 17 going to the Over 2.5 Goals (or more). By the same token, 10 of L/12 H2H matches in this venue had 2 goals or more, and 8 of 12 had Over 2.5 Goals. 

Espanyol are under tremendous pressure right now, as they cannot afford to go score-less for the 4th consecutive match. They absolutely need to start getting some points because they have one of the toughest schedules in the La Liga over the next couple of months (with away trips at Real Madrid, Betis, Bilbao and Barcelona), so if they don't wanna get involved in relegation scenarios early on, they need to be competitive against the "smaller" sides, and just a draw is not gonna cut it. They need a win. 

Rayo Vallecano have some good quality up front and they just added a very unique player that can really elevate their offensive game even more. Maybe Rayo would psychologically be OK with a draw here, but Espanyol are not. I think we see at least a couple of goals here, and the Over 2 Goals is a very safe way to bet on this match. 

Take 3u on the Over 2 Goals (+101), playable to -120