Almeria will host Rayo Vallecano at the Estadio del Mediterraneo on Friday night in the opening game of the 2023-24 La Liga season. The home side achieved promotion to the Spanish top-flight last season for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign. They had their struggles in La Liga last season but ultimately confirmed survival on the final day after a dramatic 3-3 draw against Espanyol which saw them finish 17th in the league table, one point above the drop zone. There has been a pattern for Almeria, as they have never spent more than two straight seasons in the top flight of Spanish football, so the Andalusian side will be aiming to create history this term. Meanwhile, Rayo Vallecano enjoyed a largely solid campaign last season as they finished 11th in the league table. They picked up 49 points from 38 games last season, their joint-highest points tally in their last seven seasons in the Spanish top-flight. For this season opener, I am expecting a win or a draw for the away side for the following reasons:

Firstly. Rayo Vallecano are set to begin the new season under a new head coach after former boss Andoni Iraola left the club to join Premier League side Bournemouth after three years at Rayo. They are in their third straight season in La Liga, finishing 12th and 11th in their last two campaigns, picking up 49 points during a successful 2022-23 campaign, which left them just four points off seventh position. They won just one of their five pre-season friendlies, but they would have gained encouragement from draws against the likes of Porto and Brighton & Hove Albion as part of their preparations for the new campaign.

Secondly. Almeria constantly traveled between La Liga and La Liga 2 in the 21st century. They gained promotion to La Liga in the 2021/22 season but almost got relegated in the last one since they finished 17th. This season, their primary goal is only to secure survival. Almeria had an inconsistent run in their recent friendly outings. However, they have managed to remain unbeaten in most of those. Accurately, they were unbeaten in four of their five pre-season friendlies, winning two of them. I would say that they stand a chance to get something out of this game.

Almeria actually won 3-1 in the corresponding match last season, while Rayo recorded a 2-0 victory in their clash in Madrid. I am expecting this to be a closely-fought game on the opening night of the new campaign. However, considering that Rayo have the better quality in their ranks, I expect them to get a win or a draw in this encounter.

阿尔梅里亚将于周五晚上在地中海体育场主场迎战巴列卡诺，这将是2023-24赛季西甲联赛的首场比赛。自2014-15赛季以来，这支主场球队上赛季首次晋级西班牙顶级联赛。上个赛季，他们在西甲苦苦挣扎，但最终在最后一天以3-3战平西班牙人后，他们在联赛排名第17位，比降级区高出1分。对于阿尔梅里亚来说，这是一种模式，因为他们从来没有连续两个赛季在西班牙足球的顶级联赛中度过，所以安达卢西亚球队将在本赛季创造历史。与此同时，巴列卡诺上赛季的表现相当稳定，他们在联赛中排名第11位。上赛季他们在38场比赛中拿到了49分，这是他们在西班牙顶级联赛中最近7个赛季的最高积分。对于这个赛季的揭幕战，我预计客场会取得一场胜利或平局，原因如下:

首先。巴列卡诺将在新教练的带领下开始新赛季，前主帅伊罗拉在效力巴列卡诺三年后离开俱乐部加盟英超球队伯恩茅斯。这是他们连续第三个赛季在西甲联赛中排名第12位和第11位，在2022-23赛季取得了49分的成功，这使得他们离第七名只差4分。他们在季前赛的五场友谊赛中只赢了一场，但是他们应该从与波尔图和布莱顿和霍夫阿尔比等球队的平局中得到鼓舞，这是他们为新赛季做准备的一部分。

其次。21世纪，阿尔梅里亚一直在西甲和西甲之间穿梭。他们在2021/22赛季升入西甲，但在最后一个赛季几乎被降级，因为他们获得了第17名。这一季，他们的首要目标只是确保生存。阿尔梅里亚在最近的友谊赛中表现不稳定。然而，他们在大多数比赛中都保持了不败。准确地说，他们在五场季前赛友谊赛中有四场保持不败，其中两场获胜。我想说，他们有机会从这场比赛中得到一些东西。

阿尔梅里亚实际上在上赛季的比赛中以3比1获胜，而雷约在与马德里的比赛中以2比0获胜。我希望在新赛季的开幕之夜，这将是一场激烈的比赛。然而，考虑到Rayo在他们的队伍中有更好的质量，我希望他们在这场比赛中取得胜利或平局。