Two teams in contrasting form are set to lock horns at the Estadio de Vallecas on Sunday, with both sides looking to strengthen their La Liga status.
Aiming to build on an 18-game unbeaten streak in the league, Real Madrid will do battle with Rayo Vallecano, who have failed to win any of their last five matches.
Will Carlo Ancelotti’s men extend their lead at the summit? Or could the hosts upset the odds? Read on to discover what Forebet’s AI algorithm predicts.
LUK👟 M💥DRIĆ👀 @lukamodric10🎦 INSIDE TRAINING 👉 #RMPlay— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) February 15, 2024
LUK👟 M💥DRIĆ👀 @lukamodric10🎦 INSIDE TRAINING 👉 #RMPlay
Last weekend, Rayo Vallecano suffered an agonising 2-1 defeat to Mallorca, who scored the winning goal in the 91st minute of the game.
Rayo have now lost four of their previous five La Liga matches, conceding exactly two goals in each of those defeats while scoring just three goals in reply.
To make matters worse for the hosts, they have managed to win just one of their last 14 games in the league, losing eight of their previous 12.
Having won only three of their last 22 La Liga encounters, Rayo Vallecano look destined to endure a tricky afternoon against the runaway league leaders.
On Tuesday, Real Madrid claimed a 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig in Germany to take control of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie.
That win extended Los Blancos’ unbeaten streak to 28 games across all competitions, with a solitary defeat coming in their last 38 outings.
Ancelotti’s men have been immense in La Liga this season, recording 19 wins, four draws and one loss, while they also boast the best defensive record in the division.
It is also worth noting that Real Madrid have kept 12 clean sheets in the league this term, meaning Rayo will likely struggle to score this weekend.
Head-to-head: Trends show that Rayo Vallecano have managed to win just two of their last 23 La Liga meetings with Real Madrid.
On top of that, Los Blancos have scored 34 goals in their previous 13 matches against Rayo (2.6 goals per game), with a memorable 10-2 victory coming back in 2015.
Team news: Rayo Vallecano are still without injured midfielder Diego Mendez, who has not featured since early January.
On the flip side, Real Madrid’s injury list contains Jude Bellingham, David Alaba, Thibaut Courtois, Brahim Diaz, Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger.
When you couple Rayo’s recent struggles with Real Madrid’s relentless title charge, all the signs point towards a convincing away victory.
Forebet’s predictive analytics model expects Real Madrid to score over 2.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to dispatching struggling Rayo Vallecano.