Mid-table Rayo Vallecano welcome Real Madrid to Vallecas in La Liga on Saturday evening.
Inigo Perez’s upcoming hosts ended a sequence of three consecutive defeats with a victory away to Valencia last weekend, extending the gap above the relegation zone to six points. Real Madrid could, however briefly, elbow Barcelona out of first place before the Catalans are in action on Sunday, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side have struggled to produce consistently convincing performances this season.
The defending Spanish champions ran out 3-2 victors away to Atalanta on Tuesday night despite being second-best for large swathes of the European tie. Ancelotti has a glut of injuries to manage while keeping one eye on next week’s Intercontinental Cup final in Qatar.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the game.
Rayo Vallecano vs Real Madrid H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Rayo Vallecano |
Real Madrid |
|---|---|
|
Valencia 0-1 Rayo Vallecano – 07/12/24 |
Atalanta 2-3 Real Madrid – 10/12/24 |
|
Unionistas de Salamanca 2-3 Rayo Vallecano – 04/12/24 |
Girona 0-3 Real Madrid – 07/12/24 |
|
Rayo Vallecano 1-2 Athletic Club – 01/12/24 |
Athletic Club 2-1 Real Madrid – 04/12/24 |
|
Sevilla 1-0 Rayo Vallecano – 24/11/24 |
Real Madrid 2-0 Getafe – 01/12/24 |
|
Rayo Vallecano 1-3 Las Palmas – 08/11/24 |
Liverpool 2-0 Real Madrid – 27/11/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
LaLiga TV, Premier Sports Player |
|
United States |
ESPN+, fuboTV, ESPN App, ESPN Deportes |
|
Canada |
TSN+ |
Rayo field the oldest average starting XIs in La Liga – and boast the second-youngest manager in the division – but will be without one of their most famous veterans on Saturday. Former Real Madrid academy graduate Raul de Tomas has missed Rayo’s last two matches through illness, although he has not been called upon once in La Liga by Perez even when fit.
Centre-back Pelayo Fernandez has also been limited to Copa del Rey action and is nursing a hamstring problem. The rest of the first team has largely avoided injury – unlike their upcoming opponents.
Rayo Vallecano predicted lineup vs Real Madrid (4-4-2): Batalla; Ratiu, Lejeune, Mumin, Espino; De Frutos, Ciss, Valentin, Garcia; Nteka, Isi
Real Madrid’s injury nightmare continues. Long-term absentees Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao and David Alaba were joined on the sidelines by left-back Ferland Mendy earlier this month.
Now, Kylian Mbappe is set to sit out Saturday’s short trip across Madrid. After limping off against Atalanta in midweek, Ancelotti revealed that the Frenchman would be sidelined with a hamstring injury. Madrid’s manager remained optimistic that his marquee summer signing would travel with the squad to Qatar for the Intercontinental Cup final, but it remains to be seen whether he will be fit enough to participate.
In better news for the capital club, midfielder Eduardo Camavinga will be available after sitting out the last two weeks with a muscular complaint.
Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Rayo Vallecano (4-3-3): Courtois; Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Garcia; Valverde, Modric, Bellingham; Guler, Diaz, Rodrygo
Vallecas has not always been a happy hunting ground for Real Madrid. The capital club have dropped five points from their previous two visits to the southern suburb of Madrid and have collected just one win at Rayo’s shabby stadium since 2016.
However, Vallecas has not been a fortress for Perez’s side of late. Only rock-bottom Real Valladolid have collected fewer points on home soil this season than Rayo (eight).
Perez, the former assistant to Rayo’s legendary boss Andoni Iraola – now of Bournemouth in the Premier League – earned a spirited 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in his very first match as a manager in February. He will do well to repeat the feat this weekend.
