Rayo Vallecano entertain Betis in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final today night in their small Vallecas Stadium. The side from the south of Madrid reached the last-four of the tournament for the first time in over 50 years thanks to their win over Mallorca just a week ago, although coach Andoni Iraola knows what it is to reach this stage of the competition after taking second division Mirandes to the semis in 2020.
The club from the working class neighborhood of Vallecas is currently eighth in LaLiga after a magnificent first half to the season and although they have run out of steam in recent weeks, that is mainly due to the fact their squad is not built for the rigors of playing twice a week for a long period of time.
