Rayo Vallecano’s hopes of securing European football next season suffered yet another setback at the weekend as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Real Sociedad. Finishing the round in ninth and seven points adrift of the top six, coach Andoni Iraola stated his team “can’t afford” to repeat their mistakes from that loss going forward, especially as that result extended their poor recent run to just one win in ten league matches (D5, L4). They are, though, still in line to match or better the top eight finish from their 2012/13 campaign which remains the club’s best-ever top-flight placing.
Trying to rectify their poor recent form against La Liga’s (LL) runaway leaders Barcelona is a daunting task, but they can take some comfort in going unbeaten across three H2Hs (W2, D1), their joint-longest such streak. A stand-alone new record in this H2H might not be so far-fetched when you note Iraola’s side are actually unbeaten in five of their last six home matches (W2, D3).
Barcelona haven’t been at their best in recent weeks either, but did manage to secure what could be a significant 1-0 win against Atlético Madrid on Sunday. That ended a three-game scoreless sequence (D2, L1), maintained their lead at the top to 11 points and handed them a 23rd clean sheet from their 30 LL outings – one of which came in the reverse in August (0-0).
Although Barcelona will hope Sunday’s win can give them the platform to kick on again, the frugal nature of their defence combined with their recent goal-shy attacking output means that the first goal could prove key here and notably, five of their last eight away LL matches (W6, D1, L1) ended 1-0.
Players to watch: On-loan striker Sergio Camello could be the one to get Vallecano going, having netted their first goal with four of his last five league strikes. Looking for a similar impact could be Ferran Torres who will be hoping to score in consecutive league games for the first time in more than a year, after scoring Barcelona’s winner against Atlético.
Hot stat: Ahead of this round, Barcelona have conceded a league-low 3.07 corners per game in this campaign.
