Rayo Vallecano vs Celta Vigo

Mid-table La Liga rivals Rayo Vallecano and Celta Vigo lock horns in a handsomely-looking encounter at Campo de Futbol de Vallecas.

Despite spending Christmas in the bottom half of the table for a second consecutive season, Rayo Vallecano confirmed their top-flight credentials with a four-game unbeaten La Liga run at the tail-end of 2025 (W1, D3). In addition to beating Valencia 1-0 in a crucial relegation six-pointer, they held three top-half opponents winless in that sequence. Furthermore, two Copa del Rey victories against lower-league Unionistas and Racing Club Ferrol to sandwich that decent league sequence have taken Vallecano’s unbeaten run to six heading into this clash. Seven points clear of 18th-placed Espanyol, Inigo Perez’s men return home, where they’ve only won twice in eight top-flight outings this season (D3, L3). Indeed, they’re winless in their last three such fixtures (D1, L2), with each featuring over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet.

Visiting Celta Vigo endured a patchy form toward the end of 2025, alternating between victories (2) and defeats (2) across their last four league matches. With three of those four results (wins/losses) seeing the winner on the day keep a clean sheet, finding an early breakthrough could be crucial. The visitors can’t realistically hope to draw first blood, given their disheartening traveling record in La Liga this term (W1, D1, L6), not to mention a woeful run of conceding 2+ goals in three of their last four away league games (D1, L3). Connoisseurs of action-packed football may want to skip this meeting, considering Celta’s three most recent top-flight visits to Vallecano have ended 0-0, while they haven’t scored on this ground in six of their last seven attempts!