Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona predictions and betting tips – Barça to clinch close win

The fixtures don’t get any easier for Rayo Vallecano. They crashed to a 1-0 defeat away at Athletic Club on Monday, and now they face Barcelona on Matchday 3 of La Liga.

The Catalans have won two from two so far, scoring plenty of goals in the process. Another win for Barça looks set to be the outcome on Sunday, but it might not come easy.

Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona best bets

• Barça to win and under 4.5 goals – 10/11 with Tote
• Ferran Torres to score anytime – 11/10 with Spreadex
• Lamine Yamal to provide an assist – 15/8 with Paddy Power

Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona odds

Find the latest Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona betting odds here. All odds are provided by our recommended football bookmakers and are subject to change.

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Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona predictions

Rayo beat Neman 4-0 in the second leg of their Conference League playoff on Thursday night, giving them a comfortable 5-0 aggregate win. 

So with a place now booked in the league phase of the tournament, Los Vallecanos can now turn their attention back to La Liga.

Rayo have the unenviable task of hosting a rampant Barcelona on Sunday night. Their task is made all the harder by the fact that Barça have already scored six goals in two away trips in La Liga this season.

Vallecano have had a mixed start to the season. A 3-1 away win over Girona on the opening weekend of the season, was followed by a 1-0 defeat at Athletic Club on Monday.

The win over Girona was pretty comprehensive. Los Vallecanos were 3-0 up at half time through goals from Jorge de Frutos, Álvaro García and Isi Palazón.

Girona did have a man sent off at the end of the first half, and that may well have contributed to Vallecano’s domination of the stats with 56 percent possession and 16 attempts on goal to the host’s seven.

Vallecano also had 60 percent of the ball in the loss away to Athletic Club on Monday. However, it was the hosts who had the cutting edge, with 11 shots on goal compared to Rayo’s six.  

This will be Barcelona’s third successive away fixture in La Liga as – in true Barça style – they await final completion of their Camp Nou stadium redevelopment. 

It’s fair to say, it hasn’t had any impact on their form. 

The Catalans started the season with a 3-0 win away to Mallorca on Matchday 1. Goals from Raphinha, Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal completed a comprehensive win. 

Things weren’t as straight forward on Matchday 2, with Levante pushing the 2024/25 champions all the way. 

Barcelona found themselves 2-0 down at the break. However, second half goals from Pedri, Ferran Torres and a stoppage time own goal saw Barça fight back for a 3-2 victory. 

The Catalans dominated the match with 82 percent possession and 26 attempts at goal, with ten on target.

As impressive as the comeback was, the worrying signs for all Barcelona fans was that the defensive frailties of last season don’t really seem to have been addressed. 

However, this makes for entertaining football for all of us watching on TV.

Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona betting tips

In the head to head last season, Barcelona won this fixture at the Vallecas Stadium 2-1. The Catalans won the return match in Barcelona 1-0. In a season that saw Hansi Flick’s side score 102 league goals, Vallecano kept the champions remarkably quiet. Our match betting tips follow:

Barça to clinch close encounter

Visits to the capital city can be unforgiving at times for Barça. They enjoyed remarkable success against Real with a 4-0 win last season, but as we mentioned above, Vallecano made life far more difficult.

The main reason why Flick’s team didn’t have it all their own way against Vallecano is because of Los Vallecanos’ style of play. 

Rayo were one of the lowest scorers in the top half of La Liga last season. They scored only 41 goals in their 38 matches, conceding just 45.

Put simply, Rayo are very difficult to play against. 

We can see an in-form Barcelona finding a way to get the win, but we say it will be tight. So for that reason, let’s combine a Barça win, with under 4.5 goals.

Bet on Barcelona to win and under 4.5 goals at 10/11 with Tote

Ferren looking for three in three 

With Barcelona not rushing Robert Lewandowski back after a muscle injury, Ferren Torres has led the line in their opening two matches. 

The 25-year-old is doing his best to give Hansi Flick a headache of the positive kind by scoring in both of his two appearances in La Liga this season.

A more than able deputy, Torres scored ten goals and provided six assists in his 27 La Liga appearances last season.

In this campaign he scored Barça’s crucial second goal in their opening 3-0 win over Mallorca. He followed that up with the equaliser in his team’s 3-2 win over Levante last weekend.

Torres isn’t scoring goals in the dying minutes of matches that Barcelona are winning at a canter. He is scoring crucial goals. In his current form, there is an argument that he should keep his place when Lewandowski is ready to return.  

Back Ferran Torres to score anytime at 11/10 with Spreadex

Yamal to provide yet another assist

While Ferren Torres looks like Barça’s current main goal threat, youngster Lamine Yamal is quietly going about his business in the background.

The 18-year-old scored his first goal of the season in Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Mallorca. But as well as his stoppage time third for Barcelona, Yamal also provided an assist for Raphinha’s opening goal after seven minutes.

Not content with two goal involvements against Mallorca, Yamal also provided two more assists in his team’s 3-2 comeback win over Levante. 

Yamal is 5/6 with Paddy Power in their to score or assist betting market. Those are surprisingly good odds given his four goal involvements in his first two matches of the season.

However, in the assists betting market, Yamal is far better odds, which is why we are instead backing him to provide an assist for the third successive match.

Lamine Yamal to provide one or more assists at 15/8 with Paddy Power

Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona predicted lineups

• Vallecano expected lineup: Batalla; Ratiu, Lejeune, Felipe, Chavarria; Ciss, Lopez; Palazon, Diaz, A Garcia; De Frutos.
• Barcelona expected lineup: J Garcia; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Torres.

Where to watch Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona

• Location: Vallecas Stadium, Madrid, Spain.
• Date and time: Sunday 31st August, 8.30pm.
• How to watch: Premier Sports 1.

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About the author

Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football writer from London. He predominantly covers the Premier League and has had work published by the Guardian, FourFourTwo, ESPN and others.

Follow Greg on X: @GregLeaFootball

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