FC Barcelona VS Rayo Vallecano

Barcelona will welcome Rayo Vallecano to the Spotify Camp Nou on Monday evening with momentum firmly on their side. Hansi Flick’s team have made a perfect start to the La Liga campaign, beating Elche 5-0 before overcoming Athletic Bilbao 2-0, leaving them at the top of the early standings without conceding a goal. The victory over Athletic also extended Barcelona’s home league winning streak to 20 matches, making Flick the first Barcelona manager in the 21st century to reach that mark. With another home victory potentially taking the run to 21 consecutive league wins, Barcelona will be confident of maintaining their remarkable dominance, particularly after keeping four successive clean sheets against Rayo at home. Rayo Vallecano arrive in Catalonia in a much more difficult situation after collecting only one point from their opening two matches under new coach Benat San Jose. They began with a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla despite their opponents being reduced to 10 men, before drawing 1-1 with Alaves in a match played at Butarque rather than their usual Vallecas stadium. The ongoing stadium dispute, caused by safety concerns and the suspension of their ground concession, has created additional uncertainty for a club that finished eighth last season and had ambitions of competing for European football. Rayo’s problems have also been compounded by injuries, particularly the broken leg suffered by goalkeeper Augusto Batalla, while negotiations for Aitor Fernandez have stalled. The visitors will need a major improvement in performance if they are to challenge a Barcelona side that has won three of the last four home meetings between the teams.