Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano have unveiled their initial lineups for their La Liga encounter, set to take place at Camp Nou on Sunday.
The home side holds a four-point advantage over runners-up position holder Real Madrid and secured a spot in the Champions League’s penultimate stage after decisively defeating visiting team Newcastle 7-2 in their round-of-16 second leg match on Tuesday, culminating in an 8-3 aggregate triumph.
Vallecano maintains a four-point buffer over the drop zone, possessing a match in hand compared to the three teams at the foot of the table. They advanced to the Conference League’s quarter-finals on Thursday, even after suffering a second-leg loss at home against Turkish club Samsunspor.
101GreatGoals.com provides the latest lineup information for Barcelona’s clash against Rayo Vallecano in the 2025/26 La Liga season, along with broadcast specifics.
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Barcelona verified initial squad vs Rayo Vallecano
Ronald Araujo stepped in for the sidelined Eric Garcia for Barcelona during the 22nd minute of their triumph against Newcastle, and this adjustment is mirrored in the sole alteration to Hansi Flick’s first-choice eleven.
Backline players Andreas Christensen (knee), Jules Kounde, and Alejandro Balde (both hamstring) are currently sidelined for Barcelona due to injuries.
Midfielder Frenkie de Jong is additionally suffering from a hamstring issue.
Barcelona’s Opening Eleven: Joan García, Joao Cancelo, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Pedri, Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Fermín Lopez, Gerard Martin, Marc Bernal
Barcelona substitutes: Wojciech Szczesny, Gavi, Ferran Torres, Marcus Rashford, Marc Casado, Roony Bardghji, Dani Olmo, Eric Garcia, Diego Kochen, Antonio Cortes, Fortuny Espart
Rayo Vallecano complete roster vs Barcelona
Midfielder Diego Mendez is sidelined for an extended period due to injury for Rayo Vallecano, and Ilias Akhomach, the winger (ankle), is unavailable after being considered a significant uncertainty.
Inigo Perez introduces right-sided defender Andrei Ratiu, central players Pedro Diaz and Gerard Gumbau, striker Carlos Martin, and flank player Fran Perez.
Luiz Felipe, Unai Lopez, Alexandre Alemao, Alvaro Garcia, and Jorge de Frutos are omitted.
Rayo Vallecano Initial Squad: Augusto Batalla, Andrei Ratiu, Pep Chavarria, Pedro Diaz, Pathe Ciss, Isi Palazon, Carlos Martin, Gerard Gumbau, Fran Perez, Oscar Valentin, Florian Lejeune
Rayo Vallecano Bench: Dani Cardenas, Luiz Felipe, Alemao, Sergio Camello, Randy Nteka, Abdul Mumin, Unai Lopez, Alvaro Garcia, Jorge de Frutos, Ivan Balliu, Alfonso Espino, Jozhua Vertrouwd
Viewing Information for Barca vs Vallecano: TV channel, online streaming options
The match on Sunday commences at 13:00 GMT (08:00 ET / 05:00 PT), with direct broadcast in the UK on Premier Sports 1 and digital streaming accessible across numerous devices through the Premier Sports application.
An annual Premier Sports membership is priced at £120 annually, or £11.99 monthly under a year-long agreement, alternatively, £16.99 monthly, necessitating a 30-day notice for termination.
Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano statistical insights
- Barcelona maintains an impeccable 13-game winning streak at Camp Nou since their return to the home ground.
- The team has secured victories in four consecutive La Liga fixtures subsequent to a 2-1 loss against Girona on February 16, with their latest triumph being a 5-2 home win over Sevilla on March 15.
- Flick’s squad has netted a minimum of three goals in all eight of their home encounters across various competitions in 2026, registering 12 goals in their most recent two.
- Robert Lewandowski’s brace in the second leg facing Newcastle positioned the forward at 14th among Barca’s historical goal-scorers, having registered 117 goals over three seasons, thereby matching Hristo Stoichkov.
- Patrick Kluivert (122), a former Netherlands attacker, is the subsequent player Lewandowski stands to surpass in these rankings.
- Just Real Oviedo (20), Getafe (25), and Alaves (26) have accumulated fewer La Liga goals this campaign than Rayo Vallecano (28), who have, however, let in the fewest (34) goals of any club positioned outside the top eight.
- Vallecano’s most recent away victory in the Liga was a 3-0 success over Levante on October 19, followed by five defeats and three draws in similar away fixtures thereafter.
- They have achieved stalemates in their two latest Liga away encounters – 1-1 against both Sevilla and Real Betis – and have emerged victorious in six of their preceding nine away games in the Copa del Rey and Conference League (suffering 2 losses and 1 draw).
- On two occasions in their history, their visits to Barca have culminated in victories, with triumphs of 1-0 in April 2022 and 2-0 in May 2000.
- An August home draw of 1-1 marked the initial instance Vallecano managed to evade defeat across four engagements with Barca.
- A streak of five prior contests without loss (3 wins) succeeded a succession of 14 uninterrupted Barca wins in this fixture spanning from May 2003 to January 2021.