Sunderland vs Rayo Vallecano Prediction: Red Sashes to battle past Black Cats

Sunderland and Rayo Vallecano bring the curtain down on their pre-season schedules when they clash at the Stadium of Light on Sunday (16:30 BST).

The Black Cats have been very active in the transfer market as they prepare for their Premier League return, signing nine players to date, but all those new faces are taking time to bed in and visitors Vallecano present a tough challenge.

Team News

Luke O’Nien, Aji Alese, Dennis Cirkin and Leo Hjelde have all been ruled out of the first month of the season for Sunderland, who have also been without Wilson Isidor, Chris Rigg and Anthony Patterson in recent games.

Today's Football Fixtures

With Sunderland playing Augsburg on Saturday, a different starting XI is expected, with Enzo Le Fee, Dan Neil, Patrick Roberts and Marc Guiu all set to be involved.

Vallecano could decide to make some alterations from the side that lost 3-2 to West Brom, with Gerard Gumbau in line for a start after coming off the bench and scoring against the Baggies.

Florian Lejeune, Jorge de Frutos, who also netted last time out, and Samu Becerra also came on as substitutes and they could be handed a starting opportunity.

Sunderland vs Rayo Vallecano Odds

Sunderland are 9/5 to pick up the win on home soil, with the draw priced at 23/10 and Vallecano on offer at 5/4 to finish off their pre-season with a victory.

Rayo Vallecano to win @ 5/4

Vallecano enjoyed a positive 2024/25 La Liga season, finishing eighth to qualify for the Conference League play-off round, and they are working largely with the same squad heading into the new campaign

Goalkeeper Batalla has joined permanently after impressing on loan last term, while Luiz Felipe has been poached on a free transfer after his exit from Marseille and Gumbau is back for another temporary spell.

Head coach Inigo Perez's managerial reputation is growing at the age of 37 and his side have been in decent form in pre-season, recording two draws, one win and one defeat.

The victory was a thumping 5-0 rout of PEC Zwolle, while there were enough positives to take from the 3-2 defeat to West Brom last time out to suggest they can get the better of Sunderland.

Given the amount of new arrivals this summer, it was always going to be difficult for the Black Cats to perform at their highest level in pre-season and they have struggled to pick up results, losing to Hearts (3-0), Hull City (2-1) and Real Betis (1-0).

Sunderland did beat Augsburg 1-0 on Saturday, but the starting XI for that victory was stronger than the one on Sunday will be and Vallecano can take advantage.

Football Odds

Over 2.5 goals @ 8/11

Vallecano's pre-season started slowly with a 0-0 draw against Mallorca followed by a 1-1 stalemate with Genk, but things have picked up in their last two matches with 10 goals spread evenly.

The Red Sashes beat PEC Zwolle 5-0 and were then edged out 3-2 by West Brom, so the attacking output has certainly ramped up a notch and this bodes well for the clash at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland's pre-season has been busy, with eight friendlies played so far, and half of those have produced three or more goals.

Saturday’s 1-0 win over Augsburg should have delivered over 2.5 goals, with two penalties missed in the contest, but the fact chances were made is a positive

Given this is the last match before the start of the Premier League campaign, the Black Cats will be eager to put on a good show and they can contribute to a high-scoring encounter.

Offers

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