Real Madrid will journey to the neighbourhood of Vallecas this Saturday to face local Madrid rivals Rayo Vallecano for a 26th round game of the 2021/22 La Liga season.
Venue: Campo de Futbol de Vallecas (Madrid)
Key Statistics
Rayo Vallecano has not kept a league clean sheet in six games.
The hosts have lost their last four league games.
They have now failed to score before half-time in six straight LL matches.
Vallecano’s Radamel Falcao has scored in three of his last four league appearances against Real Madrid.
Real Madrid have the league’s best travelling record (W8, D2, L2).
They are winless in four last three away games within (D2, L2- 90 minutes).
The visitors have scored the most goals in la Liga this season (51 goals).
Head to head
Real Madrid have won 14 of the last 15 head-to-head meetings with Rayo Vallecano (W1).
Latest performances in all competitions
Rayo: L-L-L-L-W
Real Madrid: W-L-D-W-L
Rayo Vallecano
Rayo Vallecano will hope to end their four-game losing run when they host Real Madrid this Saturday.
The hosts come into this tie on the back of a disappointing 2-1 loss to Elche last Friday. Despite controlling much of the ball, and taking the lead through Fran Garcia, Rayo could not hold on for the duration of the game with Guido Carrillo and Ezequiel Ponce scoring for Elche.
The result was their fifth win in the last six competitive games and pushed Andoni Iraola’s side down to 11th place in the league.
Just a few weeks ago, they were considered top-four challengers. But things have turned sour for manager Iraola who comes into this tie with his longest managerial losing streak.
They still have a chance of finishing within the top six though, as they are currently eight points behind Villareal in sixth. But they will need better performances in this game to ensure that they do not fall further down.
Possible Rayo Vallecano starting line-up
Luca Zidane, Ivan Balliu, Estaban Saveljich, Alejandro Catena, Fran Garcia; Oscar Valentin, Santi Comesana; Isaac Palazon, Oscar Trejo, Alvaro Garcia, Sergio Guardiola.
Injured: Unai Lopez, Nikola Maras, Martin Merquelanz
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Real Madrid
Real Madrid got back to winning way last time out as they defeated Alaves 3-0 thanks to goals from Marco Asensio, Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema.
The win kept them six points ahead of the chasing pack ahead of a more difficult run in the coming weeks. The win also extended their unbeaten run in the league to five games (W3, D2), keeping them as the second most in-form team in Spain’s top-flight behind Real Betis.
Carlo Ancelotti‘s side have the best away record in the league this season and will be confident of taking maximum points from this tie.
Given that they have won 14 times in their last 15 meetings with Rayo, they will be expected to blow away their hosts and keep the distance between them and Sevilla respectable.
Possible Real Madrid starting line-up
Courtois; Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Davi Alaba, Ferland Mendy; Luka Modric, Casemiro, Toni Kroos; Marco Asensio, Karim Benzema, Rodrygo.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Rayo Vallecano 0-2 Real Madrid
