Barcelona will take on Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Monday, 18 February in a match between two teams inside the top six.
The hosts know that a win would take them level on points with Real Madrid at the top of the league table after Los Blancos drew away against Osasuna on Saturday.
Rayo Vallecano, meanwhile, can move closer to the top four with a win but they will have their work cut out to beat one of the best teams in Europe.
How the bookies view it: The hosts go in as big favourites
Barcelona start the match as big favourites with the bookies which isn't a huge surprise given they have a massive incentive to win the match after results went their way on Saturday. BoyleSports have priced a Barcelona win at 2/11 while a victory for Rayo Vallecano has been priced at 9/1. The draw, which would be a disappointing result for the hosts, has been priced at 11/2.
Recent head-to-head: Advantage Barcelona
Barcelona have a decent recent record against Rayo Vallecano which will fill their fans with plenty of confidence ahead of Monday night. The Catalans are unbeaten in their last three clashes with Vallecano and two of those were victories. However, it's not all bad news for the visitors as prior to the three most recent clashes, they were unbeaten in four matches against Barcelona.
Players to watch: A front three to be feared
Barcelona have one of the most feared front threes in Europe and keeping them quiet will be up to Rayo Vallecano's defence.
In Barcelona's forward line, they have the player with the most goals in La Liga (Robert Lewandowski), the player with the most assists in La Liga (Lamine Yamal) and the player with the most chances created in La Liga (Raphinha).
All three men offer a direct goal threat which makes them an incredibly difficult team to defend as focusing on one of the three only means more space for the other two to exploit. It will be fascinating to see how Rayo Vallecano attempt to deal with this trio of terror.
Predicted line-ups
Barcelona won't be able to call on the services of Fermin Lopez due to suspension or Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Marc Bernal, Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen due to injury. Rayo Vallecano will be without Joni Montiel, Sergio Camello and Unai Lopez but Randy Nteka will return to the squad after serving his suspension.
Barcelona: Szczesny – Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde – Pedri, Casado, Pedri, Gavi – Yamal, Raphinha, Lewandowski
Rayo Vallecano: Batalla – Ratiu, Lejeune, Mumin, Chavarria – Ciss, Diaz, De Frutos, Palazon, Garcia – Nteka
Anything else catch the eye?
Barcelona have recaptured their best form in recent weeks and have been particularly impressive in attacking phases. Hansi Flick's men have scored a total of 19 goals across their last five matches in all competitions at an average of 3.8 goals per game. Barcelona to score over 3.5 goals on Monday has been priced at 13/8 by BoyeSports.
This La Liga match between Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano will be played on Feb 17, 2025 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
