Heading into the clash, Real Madrid have won 13 of their last 14 home games against Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga (D1), failing only in the one in which they did not score (0-0 in November 2023), scoring 46 goals and conceding 12.
Los Blancos have strung together three league victories followed by a setback in their most recent outing to Real Betis.
Manager Jose Mourinho and his side sit 4th in the La Liga table, 3 points behind Barcelona who have a goal difference of 15 compared to Madrid’s 7.
Real Madrid are the clear favourites to pick up 3 points on Friday night but after the shock defeat to Betis, they must be at their best against Vallecano who sit 14th in the table, 10 places below them.
Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano team news
Bernardo Silva, Arda Guler and Eduardo Camavinga will be back in the squad whilst Eder Militao (muscle), Rodrygo (knee), Raul Asencio (thigh), Aurelien Tchouameni (recovering from muscle injury) and Ferland Mendy (hip) are ruled out.
For Vallecano, the likes of Marash Kumbulla (muscle), Augusto Batalla (leg), Jozhua Vertrouwd (hamstring), Luiz Felipe (thigh), Isi Palazon (muscle), Fran Perez (suspended) and Jorge de Frutos (suspended) are ruled out as they deal with a side packed full of injuries.
Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Raya Vallecano
Real Madrid predicted starting lineup: Courtois; Dumfries, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Valverde, Bernardo; Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe
Rayo Vallecano predicted starting lineup: Cardenas; Ratiu, Lejeune, Ciss, Pedrosa; Lopez, Valentin, Diaz; Tsitaishvili, Camello, A Garcia
Kick off time
Both sides will meet at the Bernabeu on Saturday evening at 8pm UK time or 9pm CEST.
Key stats
Madrid have won all three home matches in all competitions this season, beating Real Sociedad, Málaga and Inter. They scored 10 goals across those three games and conceded only two.
Madrid are averaging 17.8 shots per game, compared with Rayo's 8.5, while Madrid average around 64% possession.
Across 48 historical meetings, Madrid have 34 wins, Rayo seven and there have been seven draws. Madrid have scored 121 goals in those games.