5/24 Article Add - Real Madrid v Rayo (Patreon)

Hey gang! I forgot I did an article for this game earlier this week. I'd be extremely careful betting this one with everything going on with Vini Jr. and all the issues regarding racism in LaLiga. It's a derby and tensions could be high, but it's also hard to tell what kind of mentality to expect from 2 teams with nothing to play for. While I did do an article and I want to make sure to include that, this isn't not my most confident article. I would play these both for .5u personally! 

RAYO VALLECANO at REAL MADRID | 5/24 | 1:30 p.m. ET

Picks:

• BTTS -140 
• Over 1.5 goals first half. +130 

This matchup is going to be brutal from a betting standpoint because, objectively, the hosts don't have anything to prove with this game. Real Madrid has no chance of falling out of the top four and missing out on the Champions League, and Rayo Vallecano has no chance being relegated, and a very small chance of reaching the top seven. Real Madrid of course wants to end the season on good terms, but we've seen them struggle in these LaLiga matches that don't have a ton of meaning in regard to points, as we saw them lose 1-0 to Valencia in their last domestic matchup. Also, with the recent events of extreme racism towards Real Madrid star players, it's difficult to predict just how the hosts will step up in support of their own. Expect a bit of a bizarre matchup come Wednesday.

Real Madrid Mentality and Vini Jr.

We cannot talk about Real Madrid right now without talking about the horrible and completely embarrassing events that happened over the weekend at Valencia. World Class player Vinicius Jr. was sent off in the 90+7 minutes after a brawl took place on the pitch between the two sides, while the hosts players were left unpunished. The cause of the brawl was that for the vast majority of the game, Valencia fans were hurling racists chants and shouts towards the Brazilian any chance they could. This is not the first time Vini. Jr has had to endure this type of environment in LaLiga, and players, fans, and organizations alike have been shouting in outrage at the league and the decisions of the league over the past few days. I'm embarrassed to have to write about this as there is absolutely no place for racism in the beautiful game, and going through these recent events will affect the mentality of all players involved and the pace of this game. Rayo Vallecano has already said that they will take extreme measures to show support to Los Blancos during this difficult time. It is important to understand that at the time of writing this Vini. Jr. will not be in this game though due to the current red card suspension.