Barcelona Form
Last week, Barcelona recorded a fairly comfortable rout of Sevilla (5:2). Barcelona scored five goals in a La Liga match for the first time since December, while the emphatic win was their third in the last four league rounds. Overall, the Catalans have won seven of their last eight Spanish top-flight matches. The club remain top of the standings, with their lead over nearest challengers Real Madrid still four points. It is also worth noting that Barcelona remain the highest-scoring team in La Liga, having netted 77 goals since the start of the current season.
- The club have scored in 48 consecutive La Liga matches.
- Barcelona have been involved in a decisive run in this competition for 25 games (21 wins, 4 defeats).
- Eight of the Catalans' last nine league matches have gone over the total.
Potential Barcelona Lineup (4-2-3-1)*
Joan Garcia – Joao Cancelo, Pau Cubarsi, Xavi Espart, Gerard Martin – Pedri, Marc Bernal – Dani Olmo, Raphinha, Roony Bardghji – Robert Lewandowski.
Defenders Jules Kounde, Alex Balde and Andreas Christensen, along with midfielder Frenkie de Jong, are unavailable due to injury. Defender Eric Garcia is a doubt.
Rayo Vallecano Form
Rayo Vallecano are doing everything they can to avoid drifting back towards the relegation zone. On Monday, Rayo Vallecano snatched a last-gasp draw at home to Levante (1:1), despite playing a man down. The Madrid outfit have shared the points in four of their last five La Liga matches, and their unbeaten run in the competition has now stretched to six games (2 wins, 4 draws). The team are 13th in the standings and sit six points clear of 18th place. It is also worth noting that Rayo Vallecano have scored consistently for eight straight La Liga matches.
- The club have not won any of their last eight away matches in La Liga (3 draws, 5 defeats).
- At least two goals have been scored in each of the Madrid side's previous 12 matches in this competition.
- Rayo Vallecano have not conceded more than one goal in six consecutive La Liga matches.
Potential Rayo Vallecano Lineup (4-2-3-1)*
Augusto Batalla – Ivan Balliu, Florian Lejeune, Noubel Mendy, Alfonso Espino – Oscar Valentin, Gerard Gumbau – Pedro Diaz, Jorge de Frutos, Fran Perez – Aleman.
Defender Noubel Mendy is suspended.
* For each team, the starting XI from their previous match in this competition is listed.
Referee
Adrian Cordero (Spain)
Matches – 14 (La Liga, 2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 54;
Yellow cards per match – 3.8;
Red cards shown – 1;
Fouls per match – 24;
Penalties – 29%.