Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano Match Analysis and Prediction

5 years ago 655

Barcelona will be looking to make it back-to-back victories in La Liga when they play host to Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou on Sunday.

The hosts will enter the contest off the back of a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad on Thursday, while Rayo Vallecano claimed a 1-0 victory over Espanyol on the same night.

Xavi’s side saw their seven-game winning streak in La Liga come to an end on Monday when they lost 1-0 at home to Cadiz, but Blaugrana managed to bounce back away to Real Sociedad, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring the only goal.

Barcelona sit second in the table, 15 points behind leaders Real Madrid -meaning the league title is not within their reach – but the club would be relatively content with the runners-up spot considering their issues earlier in the campaign.

The Catalan giants have suffered disappointment in the Champions League and Europa League this season, but there have been plenty of positive signs under Xavi’s management, and they will be keen to finish the campaign as strong as possible.

Meanwhile, Rayo Vallecano eased their relegation fears with a 1-0 victory over Espanyol on Thursday, with Sergi Guardiola scoring the only goal fo the game in the 42nd minute.

That victory has left them 14th in the table, seven points clear of the relegation places with a game in hand on 18th-placed Granada, so they are in a strong position to avoid dropping into the second division.

The victory was Rayo Vallecano’s first in La Liga since the middle of December, and their form in the first half of the campaign has kept them out of the relegation zone despite their recent struggles.

Rayo claimed a 1-0 victory over Barcelona in the reverse match earlier this season, but lost 3-1 on their last visit to Camp Nou in March 2019.

Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano head to head

The two teams have previously met on 28 occasions, where Barcelona have claimed 20 victories while Rayo have won four, and they have drawn in four. Barcelona have scored 84 goals and conceded 24 in the process. In their last five meetings, Barcelona have won four while Rayo have won once.

Rayo Vallecano 1-5 Barcelona 03/03/16

Rayo Vallecano 2-3 Barcelona 03/11/18

Barcelona 3-1 Rayo Vallecano 09/03/19

Rayo Vallecano 1-2 Barcelona 27/01/22

Rayo Vallecano 1-0 Barcelona 27/10/21

Barcelona latest home form

Barcelona have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, as they have lost each of their two most recent matches. They were defeated 3-2 by Eintracht Frankfurt on April 14 in the Europa League. In their last five matches, they have scored seven goals and conceded four.

Barcelona 0-0 Galatasaray 10/03/22

Barcelona 4-0 Osasuna 13/03/22

Barcelona 1-0 Sevilla 03/04/22

Barcelona 2-3 Eintracht Frankfurt 14/04/22

Barcelona 0-1 Cadiz 18/04/22

Barcelona latest away form

Barcelona have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their ten most recent matches. In their last away game, they managed to defeat Real Sociedad 1-0 in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded four.

Galatasaray 1-2 Barcelona 17/03/22

Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona 20/03/22

Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 Barcelona 07/04/22

Levante 2-3 Barcelona 10/04/22

Real Sociedad 0-1 Barcelona 21/04/22

Rayo Vallecano latest home form

Rayo have recently been on a relatively poor run of form at home, having been winless in their six most recent matches. In their last home game, they played out a 1-1 draw with Valencia in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored two goals and conceded seven.

Rayo Vallecano 0-3 Osasuna 12/02/22

Rayo Vallecano 1-0 Real Madrid 26/02/22

Rayo Vallecano 1-1 Sevilla 13/03/22

Rayo Vallecano 0-1 Atletico Madrid 19/03/22

Rayo Vallecano 1-1 Valencia 11/04/22

Rayo Vallecano latest away form

Rayo defeated Espanyol 1-0 in their last away game in the league. However, they have recently been on a poor run of form on the road, having been winless in their six matches prior to the win. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded six.

Real Betis 1-1 Rayo Vallecano 03/03/22

Cadiz 2-0 Rayo Vallecano 06/03/22

Granada 2-2 Rayo Vallecano 03/04/22

Alaves 1-0 Rayo Vallecano 16/04/22

Espanyol 0-1 Rayo Vallecano 21/04/22

Barcelona news

Barcelona will be missing Pedri, Sergi Roberto and Samuel Umtiti, but Ansu Fati has a chance to be named in the squad after recently returning to training.

Ronald Araujo, Gerard Pique and Dani Alaves were substituted on Thursday with issues, while Gavi and Jordi Alba should be available on Sunday.

Rayo Vallecano news

Rayo’s Ivan Balliu will be back from a suspension and is expected to come into the starting lineup, potentially taking the place of Mario Hernandez at right-back.

Esteban Saveljich and Martin Merquelanz remaim sidelined with hamstring and knee issues respectively, while Alvaro Garcia and Isi Palazon will support Guardiola at centre-forward.

Prediction and Odds

Rayo Vallecano enter the contest capable of making the match uncomfortable for Barcelona and will hope to pull a surprise victory like Cadiz on Monday.

However, the visitors have not won at Camp Nou in recent years and we expect Barca to record another home victory on Sunday against the Red Sashes.

Odds: 1 1.75 X 2.00 2 2.30