PREVIEW FC Barcelona v Rayo Vallecano

If FC Barcelona can beat Rayo Vallecano at the Estadi Olimpic on Monday night (kick-off 9pm CET), they would go straight back to the top of La Liga. Real Madrid could only draw 1-1 at Osasuna on Saturday, meaning that Atlético Madrid had the chance to replace them as leaders as they entertained Celta later in the day.

But that game also ended 1-1, which has thrown up a marvellous opportunity for Barça to match Real Madrid on 51 points, and to lead the competition on goal difference.

What an up and down season it's been! Before Christmas, the Catalans were runaway leaders. Then came that worrying slump that saw them drop to third, as many as six points off the top. But Barça have since recovered their blistering form at the start of the season, including a 7-goal spree against Valencia and putting five past Sevilla.

The reward is the chance to recover their rightful place at the top of the Liga pile. 

Rayo blazing

But to do that, they will need to beat a Rayo Vallecano side that has just set a new club record of nine Liga games without defeat, and that has the best record of all 20 clubs in 2025. They've flown up from mid-table to sixth, the second highest that they have ever been at this stage of a Liga season, and a first-ever Champions League berth is suddenly starting to look like a very real possibility. 

And Rayo are no strangers to causing Barça problems. The last two meetings may have both been blaugrana victories, including a 2-1 win at Vallecas early this season with goals from Pedri and Dani Olmo. However, before that came a run of five matches in which Barça were unable to muster a single win, losing three of them, including one at home.

Hansi says

In his pre-match press conference, Hansi Flick acknowledged that "being at the top of the table is important, of course, because it can help build confidence." However, he made it clear that "the road is very long, and what matters most to me—my priority—is our team, focusing on ourselves and not looking beyond that ... So the first thing we have to do is play the full 90 minutes against Rayo, which won't be easy because they are a very intense team."

Despite Rayo's good form, Flick was very confident, saying, "I have the feeling that my players want to show how good they are, what their mentality is; moreover, after the matches, we reaffirm our determination to keep improving ... We want to showcase the strong performances we've achieved in this 2025. The quality we've displayed in recent matches shows that we have grown as a group."

Did you know?

Robert Lewandowski needs just two more goals to match his best ever tally for a season in a blaugrana jersey. And Ferran Torres only needs one more goal to do likewise. Both of which are amazing stats considering there is still so much of the season left to play.

Raphinha is now just three goals away from becoming the fifth highest scoring Brazilian for Barça. And that's some achievement when you look back and remember how many of his greatest fellow countrymen have played at the club over the years.

Team news

Marc Bernal and Marc-André ter Stegen are out for what will probably be the rest of the season. Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo are the other two injury concerns at Barça, both of whom are expected to return shortly, but not in time for this game.

Rayo boss Iñigo Pérez recovers Nteka from suspension, but is without the injured Camello, Joni Montiel and Unai López.