La Liga: Barca Complete Trio of Away Days

Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona

A third successive La Liga away test for the Spanish champions and last week’s lucky escape at Levante will have reminded them there’s no room for complacency.

My SBOTOP prediction of a straightforward away night proved anything but as they were given a mighty scare. Yet to their credit, Hansi Flick’s men got the job done.

Trailing 2-0 at the break to much shock, Dani Olmo and Gavi were brought on and within eight minutes they were level as Pedri fired a superb strike into the top corner from 25 yards before Ferran Torres volleyed in an equaliser.

It looked like they would have to settle for a point but a stunning second-half turnaround was completed in the first minute of stoppage time when Levante’s Unai Elgezabal headed Lamine Yamal’s fine cross into his own net.

Now in what could well be their final outing before their imminent return to their iconic Camp Nou home, can they deliver more La Liga 2025 highlights and maintain their early 100 per cent record?

 

Talking Points

The Catalan giants, who scored 102 league goals en route to winning the La Liga title convincingly last season, are at near full strength.

Robert Lewandowski is being eased back into the team following a hamstring problem, so Ferran Torres is likely to continue at the tip of the attack, having impressed so far.

There could be three changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Levante though, with Jules Kounde, Frenkie de Jong and Olmo potentially being introduced.

De Jong missed out against Levante following the birth of his second child, but the Dutch international has trained all week.

Rayo enter the match off the back of a 4-0 win over Neman in the second leg of their Conference League play-off on Thursday night. That secured them a 5-0 aggregate success and a spot in the league phase of the tournament.

As a result, Los Franjirrojos will play in Europe for just the second time in their history, and it will be fascinating to see what the talented outfit, who have spent the majority of their history in the Segunda Division, can achieve this season.

Inigo Perez’s side finished an impressive eighth in La Liga last season, representing their joint-best finish at this level, and it has been a solid start to this campaign, picking up three points from their first two matches.

A 3-1 victory over Girona was followed by a narrow 1-0 loss away to Athletic Bilbao, but there were plenty of positives to take from the clash at San Mames.

Rayo will be missing Abdul Mumin and Nobel Mendy on Sunday due to injury, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape, with no fresh issues reported from Thursday’s European contest.

Barca are big favourites but have come unstuck against the capital-based Vallecano before.

 

History

Vallecano enjoyed memorable victories over Barca in the 2021/22 season, securing a league double and ending a run of 13 successive Barcelona victories which stretched back to 2002.

That was then followed by two draws and another Vallecano victory as then boss Xavi was frustrated on a number of occasions by Los Franjirrojos, previously described as a curse, with Vallecano unbeaten against Barcelona across five league matches between October 2021 and November 2023.

Normal service has been resumed of late with three successive Barca victories, two of which came last term, including a 2-1 success in this fixture when Pedri and debutant Olmo struck in the second half after Unai Lopez had put Vallecano in front.

The game in Catalonia last season was won by Barca due to a Lewandowski penalty.

Overall, Barca have 27 league wins (plus one Copa del Rey success) with 10 draws and seven Vallecano victories.

 

Betting Tip

The La Liga 2025 betting odds do not expect a repeat of last weekend’s near-shock and neither do I.

If you have faith in Vallecano doing a number on the mighty Catalans again though, attractive odds await you.

These include 1X2 @ 6.10 and Asian Handicap +1.25 @ 2.04.

Barca can be backed 1X2 @ 1.37 and Asian Handicap -1.50 @ 2.09.

A repeat of last season’s contest is on offer @ 7.80 with Correct Score 1-2, and the draw will pay out @ 4.78. Total goal 2-3 @ 2.30 caught my eye but I am actually going to go marginally higher in terms of odds and scoreline with a *** bet of total goal 4-6 @ 2.35.

   

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