Rayo Vallecano – Barcelona

Rayo and Barca have not scored more than three for six years.

On Sunday, 31 August, Rayo Vallecano will play against Barcelona. The Catalans started the championship with two victories, but not without questions about the quality of their play. Rayo Vallecano has started not only in La Liga but also in European competitions. The club has a very challenging week ahead. The 'Bees' will play their third match in six days. It's a very strange schedule in La Liga. Rayo is also participating in the Europa Conference League. It turned out that on Monday the club played against Athletic in Bilbao, then faced Neman in the European competition, after which they will need to battle at home against Barcelona. The squad for two tournaments is certainly not available for the club. Rayo opened the Spanish championship with an unexpected away victory over Girona – the club was not the favourite. So far, everything is going splendidly for Rayo with the young coach Íñigo Pérez. This will be his second season. The 'Bees' had an intriguing match in the European competition – they struggled to score against Neman for a long time. They broke through after the 64th minute – scoring four goals in quick succession. The club will definitely be closing down strongly even at home. Pérez is likely to employ the template from the match against Athletic. Rayo was not shy about sometimes retreating as a full team behind the ball. The tactic seemingly worked. The only goal conceded was after a penalty. Rayo currently has two absentees. Due to injuries, Nobel Mendy and Abdul Mumin will definitely not play. Both are not key players. Barcelona also began their second season with their coach – now the champion Hansi Flick. The Catalans easily dispatched Mallorca in the first round (3-0), but the match against Levante was nerve-wracking. Barcelona managed to lose the first half 0-2. However, they quickly corrected the situation after the break. Barcelona continues to act very boldly; Flick urges defenders to establish a high defensive line. Levante calmly created scoring opportunities – this is a very worrying sign. At the same time, it should be easier against Rayo. Firstly, the opponent will be fatigued, and secondly, Rayo does not have very fast players. Barcelona has a good squad. Long-term absentee goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen is out, but they weren't counting on the German in this season anyway. The rotation player Gavi's return to the field is doubtful. The main intrigue is the decision regarding Lewandowski. The Pole appeared to test the pitch in the match against Levante, but is not yet 100% fit, and Ferran Torres is doing well. Barcelona is rightly considered the favourite, although the odds seem somewhat inflated: it has indeed dropped below 1.40 – which is a rare case for an away team. One can consider options with totals. A rout is not obvious: last season Rayo twice managed to shut down Barcelona's attack, conceding only three goals in two matches. The total exceeding three has not occurred in the face-off between the two clubs for the last six years.