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Mid-table Rayo Vallecano welcome Real Madrid to Vallecas in La Liga on Saturday night.
Inigo Perez’s incoming hosts snapped a three-match losing streak with victory away to Valencia last weekend, extending their gap above the relegation zone to six points. Real Madrid he could, however, briefly elbow Barcelona out of first place before the Catalans kick off on Sunday, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side have struggled to produce consistently convincing performances this season.
The defending champions of Spain ran out 3-2 away win at Atalanta on Tuesday night despite being second best for large parts of the European tie. Ancelotti has a bevy of injuries to manage as he keeps one eye on next week’s Intercontinental Cup final in Qatar.
Here 90 minutes game review.
Rayo Vallecano vs Real Madrid H2H record (last five matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Rayo Vallecano |
Real Madrid |
|---|---|
|
Valencia 0-1 Rayo Vallecano – 12.07.24 |
Atalanta 2-3 Real Madrid – 12.10.24 |
|
Unionistas de Salamanca 2-3 Rayo Vallecano – 12.4.24 |
Girona 0-3 Real Madrid – 12.07.24 |
|
Rayo Vallecano 1-2 Athletic Club – 12.01.24 |
Athletic Club 2-1 Real Madrid – 12.4.24 |
|
Sevilla 1-0 Rayo Vallecano – 24.11.24 |
Real Madrid 2-0 Getafe – 12.01.24 |
|
Rayo Vallecano 1-3 Las Palmas – 11.08.24 |
Liverpool 2-0 Real Madrid – 27.11.24 |
|
Earth |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
Great Britain |
LaLiga TV, Premier Sports Player |
|
United States |
ESPN+, fuboTV, ESPN app, ESPN Deportes |
|
Canada |
TSN+ |
Rayo field the oldest average starting XI in League – 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 Ray’s last two games through illness, although Perez has never called him up in La Liga, even when fit.
Center back Pelayo Fernandez is also limited to Copa del Rey action nursing a hamstring problem. The rest of the first team largely escaped injury – unlike their upcoming opponents.
Predicted lineup of Rayo Vallecano against Real Madrid (4-4-2): Fight; Ratiu, Lejeune, Mumin, Thorn; De Frutos, Ciss, Valentin, Garcia; Peace, World
Real Madrid’s injury nightmare continues. Long-term absentees Dani Carvajal, Eder Militau and David Alaba were joined by left-back Ferland Mendy earlier this month.
Now, Kylian Mbappe is set to sit out Saturday’s short trip through Madrid. After limping against Atalanta midweek, Ancelotti revealed that the Frenchman would be absent due to hamstring injury. The Madrid manager remained optimistic that his summer signing will travel with the squad to Qatar for the Intercontinental Cup final, but it remains to be seen whether he will be fit enough to take part.
In better news for the main club, midfielder Eduardo Camavinga will be available after being sidelined for the last two weeks with a muscle problem.
Predicted line-up of Real Madrid against Rayo Vallecano (4-3-3): Courteous; Vazquez, Asensio, 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 in their previous two visits to Madrid’s southern suburbs and have only won once at Rayo’s shabby stadium since 2016.
However, Vallecas has not been a fortress for Perez’s side of late. Only lowly Real Valladolid has collected fewer points at home this season than Rayo (eight).
Perez, former assistant to Ray’s legendary boss Andoni Iraola – now at Bournemouth in Premier League – earned a spirited 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in his first game as manager in February. It will come in handy if he repeats the feat this weekend.
