A unique opportunity, as good as it gets for Barcelona, who in the postponed match against Rayo Vallecano have the chance to retake the top spot – sharing it with eternal rivals Real Madrid – by taking advantage of the mistakes of their two direct competitors. In fact, in Saturday’s early game, the “Blancos” were probably still feeling the effects of the cup game against City and didn’t do much better than a draw with Osasuna in Pamplona. But surprisingly, Atletico Madrid also slowed down, held at the Metropolitano by Celta Vigo.
These two results made Hansi Flick smile: now it’s up to his Blaugrana, who in the league seem to have found the rhythm they had a few months ago, when Barça gave the impression they could dominate this edition of the Spanish league. The Catalans have won three matches in a row, two of which were quite clear victories against Valencia (annihilated 7-1) and Sevilla, who were overwhelmed 4-1 at the “Pizjuan”. Although they haven’t been brilliant in terms of consistency, no one can boast the same offensive numbers as Barcelona, who with 64 goals scored in 23 games have the most prolific attack in the tournament. Lewandowski and his teammates, however, cannot afford to underestimate the Madrid club, which is one of the teams in the best shape in recent weeks. Like Barça, Rayo has also won three consecutive matches, all by the narrowest of margins, against Girona, Leganés and Real Valladolid. Nine points that have taken Inigo Perez’s men up to sixth place in the standings, which today would be worth a pass to the Conference League. The Matagigantes will therefore be able to face the match, which on paper is prohibitive, at Montjuic with confidence: in attack they will be missing center forward Camello, replaced by Nteka. In Barcelona, on the other hand, Fermin Lopez is absent due to suspension, but the injured Araujo may also have to forfeit.
Odds comparison
The “Goal” option is quoted at 1.72 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and at 1.75 on Snai. The “Over 2.5” sign is quoted at 1.27 on Goldbet, Lottomatica and Snai.
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The prediction
Despite Rayo’s particularly positive momentum, Barcelona shouldn’t make any mistakes in this match as a win would allow them to return to the top of the table. As in the Blaugrana’s last few outings, there will be goals and it’s not impossible that the Vallecas club will manage to score at least one.
The probable line-ups for Barcelona-Rayo Vallecano
BARCELONA (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Koundé, Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez, Balde; de Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Lewandowski.
RAYO VALLECANO (4-2-3-1): Batalla; Ratiu, Lejeune, Mumin, Chavarría; Ciss, Valentin; de Frutos, Isi, Álvaro García; Nteka.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-1