Elche host Rayo in critical need of a result

Elche CF and Rayo Vallecano will close the curtain on the Liga BBVA matchday 22 action. Fran Escribá’s charges will be looking to pick up all three points to abandon last place in the table and move out of the relegation zone. Meanwhile, a win for Paco Jémez’s players would move them to tenth in the division and put an end to their unfortunate tendency of suffering back-to-back defeats.

Team news
Escribá will be without Pedro Mosquera for this match, as the midfielder will be sidelined until April with an injury. For Rayo on the other hand, Mohamed Fatau, Adrián Embarba, Alejandro Pozuelo and Miku have all been left out because of a technical decision. David Cobeño, who is carrying a knock, will not feature, nor will Abdoulaye Ba due to an accumulation of bookings.

Views from the dugouts
Fran Escribá assessed the upcoming opposition and revealed some of the keys to winning this encounter: "Rayo are a team that work better when they have the ball and are a well drilled outfit, but their playing style should suit us". He also spoke about Trashorras’s role: "He is capable of setting the pace for his team and controlling the tempo of match".

His counterpart, Paco Jémez, highlighted the importance of this match: "This is a vital game for Elche, but is equally for us if not more so". The manager of the Madrid side also pointed out: "We are a small club and we have to fight hard every year to stay up. The day we stop doing that that is the day it all ends".