Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano Prediction, Preview, Predicted Lineups and Team News | La Liga

Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano Preview

• Tournament: La Liga
• Date: Sunday, March 9
• Kick-off Time: 3:15 pm GMT
• Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Spain

Rayo Vallecano will travel to Real Madrid for their 27th game of the 2024/25 La Liga season at Santiago Bernabeu. The Galacticos are sitting just three points behind league-leaders Barcelona and have dropped crucial points in their last few games.

Hosts Real Madrid are sitting at the top of the La Liga table and have tallied 54 points from their last 26 games. They enter this game as the favourites and have registered 92 shots, 2,899 passes and maintained a 62.5% possession in the last five games. Kylian Mbappe is the leading goalscorer with 17 goals followed by Vinicius Jr with nine. Jude Bellingham tops the assists chart with six whereas Vinicius has bagged five for himself.

Meanwhile, Rayo Vallecano had a stellar start to the new campaign and are sitting seventh in the league standings with 36 points after 26 games. Los Franjirrojos will be happy to finish in the mid-table and are not in danger of getting relegated like last season. In the last five games, they have tallied 78 shots, 2,066 passes and 58.1% possession. Jorge de Frutos is topping the goalscoring charts with four goals, whereas he has bagged three assists for himself.

Real Madrid Team News

Real Madrid would be without long-term absentees, Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal, for the home side. Jesus Vallejo and Daniel Ceballos also remain sidelined for this weekend's tie.

Rayo Vallecano Team News

As for Rayo Vallecano, they would be without the services of Joni Montiel, Raul de Tomas, Unai Lopez and Sergio Camello in this weekend clash. They would be boosted with the return of Jorge de Frutos who served a suspension. Isi Palazona also remains out with his unspecified injury.

Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano Predicted Lineups

Real Madrid Predicted Lineup (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Courtois

Defenders: Vazquez, Rudiger, Asencio, Mendy

Midfielders: Valverde, Ceballos, Tchoumeni

Forwards: Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius

Rayo Vallecano Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Batalla

Defenders: Ratiu, Lejeune, Mumin, Chavarria

Midfielders: Diaz, Ciss

Forwards: Embarba, Trejo, de Frutos; Nteka

Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano Head-to-Head Record

The two sides have faced off only 30 times in the past, with Real Madrid winning 22 of those games. Rayo Vallecano have won only three ties between both sides, whereas the remaining five games ended in a draw.

Key Players to Watch in Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano

Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)

The Frenchman is regarded as one of the best players in the world and has been in sensational form. Despite a slow start in his debut campaign, Mbappe has made 31 goal contributions in the 2024/25 campaign. Mbappe has an xG of 2.32 in his last five matches.

Jorge de Frutos (Rayo Vallecano)

The Spaniard will return against Madrid after serving a suspension against Sevilla last weekend. So far this season, de Frutos has scored nine goal contributions across all competitions and has an xG of 1.46 in his last five matches.

Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano Prediction

Just like every season, Real Madrid are expected to win against the visitors, but the reverse fixture ended in a hard-fought 3-3 draw. They are the reigning La Liga champions and find themselves sitting third in the league table, three points behind league-leaders Barcelona. Los Blancos are eyeing their 11th home win this season and this win will be a crucial one.

As for Rayo Vallecano, they find themselves sitting seventh in the league standings and are winless in their last three league games. Los Vallecanos are coming off a well-fought 1-1 draw with Sevilla and have significantly improved from their last season’s 17th finish.

Predicted Score: Real Madrid 3-1 Rayo Vallecano

Where to Watch Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano Live?