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Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona – La Liga: Team news, lineups and prediction

Barcelona will return to La Liga action on Saturday with a trip to Rayo Vallecano as Xavi’s side bids to improve their position after sitting four points behind current leader Girona.

Losses in all competitions have hammered the optimism around Catalonia, and Barca must bring back the good vibe this weekend.

Rayo have been in La Liga since their 2021 promotion and have a strong record against Barca in that time, though they’ve drawn a whopping six of their last eight league games coming into this fixture.

What time does Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona kick off?

• Location: Madrid, Spain
•  Stadium: Estadio de Vallecas
•  Date: Saturday, 25 November

Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona H2H Record (Last Five Games)

• Rayo Vallecano: 3 wins
•  Barcelona: 1 win
•  Draws: 1
•  Last meeting: Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Barcelona (La Liga) – 26 April 2023

Current form (all competitions)

• Rayo Vallecano: WDWDL
•  Barcelona: WLWLW

Team news

35-year-old attacking midfielder Oscar Trejo suffered a knee injury before the international break and isn’t expected to return to full fitness until late December.

Alvaro Garcia, who scored in Rayo’s 2-1 win over Barca last season, will serve a suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card in La Liga. However, manager Francisco Rodriguez has few injury worries elsewhere.

Isi Palazon is Rayo’s leading league goalscorer after Garcia’s four with two and will be their main creative outlet in attack.

Barcelona confirmed that they would lose Gavi, who has covered the most distance of any Barcelona player in LALIGA this season, according to Media Coach, for the rest of the season, for the midfielder’s injury is ACL torn.

International breaks have never been the club’s favorite as their players could face severe injury, which could rule them out for long. Days ago, La Liga giant Real Madrid lost their crucial player Eduardo Camavinga, and Barca would be without Gavi for the rest of the season.

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Head coach Xavi has at least Pedri available again. At the same time, Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong is expected to return on Saturday, having not featured since the 3-2 win over Celta Vigo in September. Sergi Roberto remains absent with a muscle strain in his leg.

Predicted Line up

• Rayo Vallecano predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Dimitrievski; Ratiu, Lejeune, Mumin, Espino; Valentin, Lopez; Palazon, Nteka, Bebe; Camello.
• Barcelona predicted lineup vs Rayo Vallecano (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Cancelo, Kounde, Araujo, Balde; Lopez, Gundogan, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Felix.

Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona score prediction

Xavi will hope his side can reset somewhat after the international break, having failed to hit the heights that saw Barca win La Liga last season. Vallecano can be tough to beat for the Catalan giants, but the defending champions would come for three points.

Prediction: Rayo Vallecano 1-2 Barcelona