Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano Betting Odds, Tips, Predictions, Preview 19th May 2024

The penultimate round of the La Liga season presents an interesting battle between Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano. The match takes place on Sunday at a neutral venue.

Barcelona are currently number 2 with 79 points and will be very eager to hang to that position at the very least. Qualifying for the Champions League would naturally boost the club coffers and bring excitement to a neutral venue.

Top side Barcelona will be hoping to inflict more misery on lowly placed Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. The hosts should simply be able to bring far too much to the table for the visitors to have any say this coming Sunday.

Barcelona scored an average of 1.8 goals in ten matches or a total of 18 while allowing nine goals against. This is an average of 0.9 goals against per match with seven clean sheets along the way.

Rayo Vallecano scored seven goals, conceded eight and kept their opponents from scoring four times in ten matches.

It finished all square on when Barcelona last faced Rayo Vallecano. With both denying to back down, the scoreboard said 1-1 in the end. The best betting odds on a draw at full-time with the bookies are at 5/1.

Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano Prediction

Barcelona Form

In the previous three matches, Barcelona lost 4-2 against Girona, beat Real Sociedad by 2-0 and won 0-2 against Almeria. Barcelona showed little mercy in their past six matches at the a neutral venue, of which they won five and drew once. Going undefeated, they hit the target 15 times, while letting in five themselves.

Rayo Vallecano Form

Rayo Vallecano gained four points in their past three matches. First, they went down 0-1 against Almeria, before picking up a 0-0 draw against Valencia. Their latest match brought a 2-1 win in their encounter with Granada. Rayo Vallecano are winless in their last six away games in the La Liga, in which they drew two and lost four. They conceded nine goals while scoring one themselves.

They went into the season as candidates for the drop, and unfortunately for Rayo Vallecano, they have lived up to expectations. As the season draws to a close, they are still in with a chance of escaping relegation, though.

We expect Barcelona to make home advantage count but equally, we do not expect a festival of goals against Rayo Vallecano. Hence, our punt on the home win in a match with no more than three goals.

Barcelona took 46 points from their last 18 encounters with teams from the bottom half of the La Liga table. This amounts to 14 wins after scoring 34 times and conceding 17. Rayo Vallecano won zero and claimed five points in their ten most recent games against teams inside the top six. They scored six conceded 22 goals. Barcelona claimed 24 wins, seven draws as well as five defeats in the La Liga this season. Rayo Vallecano are looking at eight wins, 14 draws and 14 defeats in the La Liga.

Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano Squads

Barcelona Squad

Xavi Hernandez will choose the starting lineup for the upcoming game against Rayo Vallecano from the players listed below (the information in the brackets refers to goals scored and matches played in the La Liga this season):

Inaki Pena (0/10), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (0/26), Alex Balde (0/18), Andreas Christensen (2/28), Hector Fort (0/6), Inigo Martinez (0/18), Joao Cancelo (2/30), Jules Kounde (1/33), Marcos Alonso (0/5), Pau Cubarsi (0/17), Ronald Araujo (1/24), Sergi Roberto (3/13), Fermin Lopez (7/29), Ferran Torres (7/28), Frenkie de Jong (2/20), Gavi (1/12), Ilkay Gundogan (5/34), Oriol Romeu (0/27), Pedri (2/22), Joao Felix (7/28), Lamine Yamal (5/35), Marc Guiu (1/3), Raphinha (6/27), Robert Lewandowski (17/33), Vitor Roque (2/12).

Rayo Vallecano Squad

Listed below is the full squad of Rayo Vallecano players that the manager Inigo Perez will choose from for the upcoming game:

Dani Cardenas (0/0), Stole Dimitrievski (0/36), Abdul Mumin (1/19), Alfonso Espino (0/30), Andrei Ratiu (0/10), Aridane Hernandez (0/18), Florian Lejeune (3/35), Martin Pascual (0/0), Alvaro Garcia (6/30), Diego Mendez (0/1), Isi Palazon (4/35), Ivan Balliu (0/32), Kike Perez (1/23), Miguel Crespo (0/13), Oscar Valentin (1/33), Pathe Ciss (1/29), Pep Chavarria (1/20), Randy Nteka (1/16), Unai Lopez (1/33), Bebé (2/18), Jorge de Frutos (2/34), Jose Pozo (0/2), Oscar Trejo (0/30), Radamel Falcao (1/20), Raul de Tomas (1/24), Sergio Camello (3/30).

Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano Team News

Barcelona are looking at up to six players on the injured and absent list ahead of their home match against Rayo Vallecano this coming Sunday.

Ferran Torres, Joao Felix, Sergi Roberto, Alex Balde, Marcos Alonso and Gavi nurses various injuries and won't take part for Barcelona against Rayo Vallecano at a neutral venue.

At the time of writing, Rayo Vallecano just have two players on the injured and absent list, as they prepare for their match on Sunday. Oscar Trejo is ineligible for selection in the Rayo Vallecano squad, as he is suspended.

Diego Mendez nurses an injury and won't be travelling with Rayo Vallecano.

Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano Lineups

Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano H2H

Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano had to settle for a point each in their most recent match, which finished with a 1-1 scoreline. The best betting odds on a draw at full-time with the bookies are at 5/1. Barcelona hold a 5-2-3 advantage against Rayo Vallecano from their latest encounters. The bookies best betting odds on a home win are at 1/4.

Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano Results

Over 2.5 goals came out four times in the last ten matches between Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano. Odds on under 2.5 goals are at 13/8 with bookies.

Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano Betting Tips

It has been a superb season for Robert Lewandowski so far as he managed to score impressive 17 goals across all tournaments during the current campaign. He appears to be in great form currently, as he hit the target four times in his last six games, and Barcelona rely on his abilities against Rayo Vallecano. Siding with him to find the back of the net this coming Sunday seems like a decent punt.

Barcelona won seven of the previous 10 home matches across all tournaments, while drawing one and losing two as well. Rayo Vallecano won one from a possible 10 away from home, as they also drew three and lost six in this run. Barcelona kept a clean sheet five times in their previous 10 matches at a neutral venue hoping to do so again this coming Sunday. Rayo Vallecano kept a clean sheet in four of their last 10 away games.

Both teams to score was a winning bet seven times in the last ten encounters between these two rivals, while at least four goals happened five times. Barcelona managed an average of 2.4 goals, while Rayo Vallecano averaged 1.2 goals a game. Barcelona saw over 2.5 goals in six of their last ten matches across all tournaments, as they scored an average of 2.1 goals during this run. Over 2.5 goals came up in three of Rayo Vallecano's previous ten matches across all tournaments. They managed to score an average of 0.7 goals in these matches.