Our prediction for this Primera Division match:
An eagerly-awaited game between Rayo Vallecano and Barcelona will open Saturday’s program in the La Liga round 14. Los Vallecanos aim to recover from a 2-1 loss to Girona and we are positive that they will adopt a cautious approach against Barca. Midfielder Garcia Rivera is banned for the match, while forward Oscar Trejo misses out with a knee injury. Experienced forward Radamel Falcao is widely expected to replace Trejo in the starting XI.
The Catalan giants, on the other hand, came from behind to beat Deportivo Alaves before the international break, with the team staying in the title race, but beating Rayo in the suburbs of Madrid is easier said than done. A close encounter is on the cards at Campo de Futbol de Vallecas and we are tempted to put our money on draw. All Gavi, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Frenkie De Jong remain in the treatment room, while Sergi Roberto is a major doubt.
Highlighted Player (Robert Lewandowski):
After scoring 36 goals in 59 league games for Znicz Pruskow, Robert Lewandowski joined Lech Poznan in June, 2008. The 184-cm-tall attacker scored 18 goals in 28 appearances for the club in the 2009/2010 Ekstraklasa campaign and during the season he was on Borussia Dortmund’s radar.
The Polish forward signed a four-year deal with the Bundesliga side in June, 2010 and he quickly established himself as the team’s key attacker. Lewandowski was producing excellent performances with the Millionaires between 2010 and 2014 and it has to be noted that he won two Bundesliga trophies with the club (2010/2011, 2011/2012). He participated in the 2012/2013 Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund, but the Millionaires were beaten by fellow Bundesliga side Bayern Munich in the title game.
However, he betrayed Borussia Dortmund fans in 2014 as he signed a four-year deal with the Bundesliga giants. Lewandowski impressed in the 2016/2017 Bundesliga campaign as he scored 30 goals in 32 league games for Pep Guardiola’s troops. The Polish footballer represented his homeland at Euro 2016 in France and he scored one goal at the showpiece tournament in France.
Highlighted Team (Rayo Vallecano):
Rayo Vallecano is a Spanish football club from the Valleas neighbourhood in Madrid and are founded in the year 1924. The club is playing in the Primera Division since 2011 after being in active in the lower divisions for a longer period of time. Rayo Vallecano currently plays it’s home games in the Teresa Rivero Stadium which is also known as the Nuevo Vallecas stadium and holds a capacity of 15 500 seats. The Nuevo Vallecas stadium is one of the smallest ones in the Primera Division. The club colors of Rayo Vallecano are white and red and is also known as Los Vallecanos. Rayo Vallecano is known for it’s ultra’s which are radical left winged political sided.
In the clubs history Rayo Vallecano never won any big prizes. The biggest achievement was in 2000 when the club qualified for the UEFA Cup after winning the Fair Play spot. Rayo Vallecano was one of the biggest surprises in Europe that season and even managed to get to the quarter finals where Rayo got eliminated by Deportivo Alaves. There are a lot of famous players that played for Rayo Vallecano during their career such as: Julen Lopetegui, Jordi Figueras, Victor Onokpo and Ismael Urzaiz.