Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano preview, prediction, team news and head-to-head

• Over 3.5 goals

• Both teams to score

• Barcelona to win

Barcelona are marching towards the league title once again as the Blaugrana welcome a potentially fatigued Rayo Vallecano to Camp Nou in Catalonia.

After a tricky opening match and a half, Barcelona eventually ran riot against Newcastle United in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League in midweek, winning the second-leg by seven goals to two against the English outfit at Camp Nou.

Real Madrid's clash with Atletico Madrid will not take place until Sunday evening, so a win for Barcelona in this contest would see them open up a seven-point advantage at the summit, putting the pressure firmly on Alvaro Arbeloa's side to claim all three points.

Rayo Vallecano have played twice since last weekend, with a Monday night clash against struggling Levante seeing them snatch a point deep into second-half stoppage-time.

Inigo Perez’ side then moved into the quarter-finals of European competition for the first time ever with a 3-2 aggregate win over Samsunspor, having lost 1-0 in the second-leg of that UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 tie the other day.

Rayo are nine points off the top six, though, so their most realistic route into Europe next season would be by winning the Conference League.

The Catalan giants have won 30 and lost only seven of their previous 48 matches with Rayo, but it was 1-1 when the pair locked horns for the reverse game earlier this season.

Rayo Vallecano are actually unbeaten in their last six league matches, including a 1-1 draw with Levante in their last game in Spain's top flight. 

The capital outfit do have a recent Camp Nou win to their name, triumphing at the famous stadium in April 2022, and they only suffered a 1-0 loss in the corresponding match last term.

Barcelona La Liga form: 🟩🟥🟩🟩🟩🟩

Barcelona form (all competitions): 🟩🟩🟩🟧🟩🟩

Rayo Vallecano La Liga form: 🟩🟧🟧🟩🟧🟧

Rayo Vallecano form (all competitions): 🟧🟩🟧🟩🟧🟥

Andreas Christensen (knee), Jules Kounde (hamstring), Alejandro Balde (hamstring) and Frenkie de Jong (hamstring) will miss the match for Barcelona.

However, goalkeeper Joan Garcia and key defender Eric Garcia are both expected to be available for selection despite being forced off the field against Newcastle last time out.

Ferran Torres, Marcus Rashford and Dani Olmo are among the options for change, but Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez and Raphinha are expected to keep their spots behind Robert Lewandowski, who netted twice against Newcastle last time out.

As for Rayo, Nobel Mendy is out of the match through suspension, having been sent off in the team's 1-1 draw with Levante in the league last time out.

Diego Mendez remains on the sidelines through injury, but no fresh issues have been reported from the team's Europa League clash on Thursday night.

Barcelona: J Garcia; Cancelo, Cubarsi, E Garcia, Martin; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Rayo Vallecano: Batalla; Ratiu, Balliu, Lejeune, Pacha; Gumbau, Ciss; De Frutos, Diaz, A Garcia; Alemao

Rayo appear comfortably safe from relegation to the second-tier, despite the chaos of the club behind the scenes, and can begin to prioritise, both mentally and physically, their European run. Nevertheless, they are capable of making this a tricky match for Barcelona.

However, the Catalan outfit are flying at the moment, and we are finding it incredibly difficult to predict anything other than a comfortable home success for Flick's team.

Correct score prediction: Barcelona 3-1 Rayo Vallecano