Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano

La Liga runners-up Barcelona and 14th-placed Rayo Vallecano are set to square off in a revenge-poised top-flight clash at Camp Nou.

Barcelona instantaneously bounced back from a lacklustre 1-0 home defeat to bottom-half Cadiz by beating sixth-placed Real Sociedad 1-0 in midweek La Liga action. With fifth-placed Real Betis lagging six points behind, another victory would solidify Barca’s hopes of securing Champions League qualification for next season. Barcelona will be looking to avenge a dismal 1-0 loss in the reverse fixture in October and have the recent H2H record at Camp Nou firmly on their side. The ‘Blaugrana’ have won their last seven La Liga home meetings with Vallecano and could record eight home triumphs on the trot against them in the competition for the first time. However, Xavi’s men have lost their last two competitive home outings and could lose three consecutive fixtures at Camp Nou for only the second time in the club’s history.

In the meantime, Rayo Vallecano squeezed past fellow bottom-half rivals Espanyol 1-0 in midweek, ending a run of 13 La Liga matches without winning (D4, L9). In fact, that triumph in Catalunya marked Vallecano’s first top-flight win in 2022, while it was also their second La Liga victory on the road this season (D3, L11). ‘Los Franjirrojos’ have found the away goals hard to come by this term, netting a paltry average of 0.68 goals per La Liga trip. But Vallecano have never won back-to-back top-flight meetings with Barcelona, and conceding first would likely extend their wait. Indeed, a lack of the bounce-back ability has seen Andoni Iraola’s side go winless in all 12 La Liga away matches after shipping the opening goal this season (D2, L10).