Barcelona will be aiming to strengthen their grip on first position in the La Liga table when they welcome Rayo Vallecano to Camp Nou on Sunday afternoon.
The Catalan outfit are currently four points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, while Rayo occupy 13th, six points above the relegation zone in Spain's top flight.
Match preview
Real Madrid's clash with Atletico Madrid will not take place until Sunday evening, so a win for Barcelona in this contest would see them open up a seven-point advantage at the summit, putting the pressure firmly on Alvaro Arbeloa's side to claim all three points.
Barcelona will enter this match off the back off a spectacular 7-2 win over Newcastle United in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League contest, which saw them book their spot in the quarter-finals courtesy of an 8-3 aggregate success.
Hansi Flick's side will take on Atletico Madrid in the final eight, but their full focus is currently on La Liga, and they will be aiming to make it five straight wins in the competition here.
As mentioned, Barcelona currently have a four-point lead at the summit, and they have been excellent in Spain's top flight this season, boasting a record of 23 wins, one draw and four losses from 28 matches, scoring 77 times in the process.
The Catalan giants have won 30 and lost only seven of their previous 48 matches with Rayo, but it was 1-1 when the pair locked horns for the reverse game earlier this season.
© Iconsport / Zuma
Rayo, meanwhile, managed to book their spot in the quarter-finals of the Conference League on Thursday night despite losing 1-0 at home to Samsunspor in the second leg of their last-16 clash, which gave them an aggregate score of 3-2.
The capital outfit are actually unbeaten in their last six league matches, including a 1-1 draw with Levante in their last game in Spain's top flight.
Los Franjirrojos have a record of seven wins, 11 draws and 10 defeats from their 28 league matches this season, with 32 points leaving them in 13th, six points above the relegation zone.
Inigo Perez's side are nine points off the top six, though, so their most realistic route into Europe next season would be by winning the Conference League.
Rayo do have a recent Camp Nou win to their name, triumphing at the famous stadium in April 2022, and they only suffered a 1-0 loss in the corresponding match last term.
Barcelona La Liga form:
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Barcelona form (all competitions):
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Rayo Vallecano La Liga form:
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Rayo Vallecano form (all competitions):
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Team News
© Imago / IMAGO / Ball Raw Images
Andreas Christensen (knee), Jules Kounde (hamstring), Alejandro Balde (hamstring) and Frenkie de Jong (hamstring) will miss the match for Barcelona.
However, goalkeeper Joan Garcia and key defender Eric Garcia are both expected to be available for selection despite being forced off the field against Newcastle last time out.
Ferran Torres, Marcus Rashford and Dani Olmo are among the options for change, but Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez and Raphinha are expected to keep their spots behind Robert Lewandowski, who netted twice against Newcastle last time out.
As for Rayo, Nobel Mendy is out of the match through suspension, having been sent off in the team's 1-1 draw with Levante in the league last time out.
Diego Mendez remains on the sidelines through injury, but no fresh issues have been reported from the team's Europa League clash on Thursday night.
Alemao is likely to continue through the middle for the visitors, while there should also be a spot in the final third of the field for Alvaro Garcia, who has scored 12 times and registered nine assists during an impressive 2025-26 campaign.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
J Garcia; Cancelo, Cubarsi, E Garcia, Martin; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Batalla; Ratiu, Balliu, Lejeune, Pacha; Gumbau, Ciss; De Frutos, Diaz, A Garcia; Alemao
We say: Barcelona 3-1 Rayo Vallecano
Rayo are capable of making this a tricky match for Barcelona, but the Catalan outfit are flying at the moment, and we are finding it incredibly difficult to predict anything other than a comfortable home success for Flick's team.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.