Real Madrid will be bidding to continue their strong start to the campaign when they welcome Rayo Vallecano to Bernabeu in La Liga on Sunday night.
Los Blancos were 2-1 winners over Barcelona in El Clasico last weekend, with the result leaving them at the top of the table on 28 points, while Rayo sit in eighth position on 17 points.
Match preview
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Real Madrid were far from their best in the first half of El Clasico last weekend, with Ilkay Gundogan's sixth-minute effort allowing Barcelona to take a 1-0 lead into the interval, but Jude Bellingham came up with a second-half brace to secure a huge three points for Los Blancos.
Carlo Ancelotti's side have won nine, drawn one and lost one of their 11 league matches this season to collect 28 points, which is enough to top the table, but they are level on points with Girona.
Atletico Madrid in third are just three points behind with a game in hand, meanwhile, so Real Madrid are far from comfortable at the summit, and they will be eyeing back-to-back wins over Rayo and Valencia at Bernabeu before the season breaks again in November for international matches.
Real Madrid will be in Champions League action next week at home to Braga, meanwhile, and they have been impressive in the competition thus far in 2023-24, winning all three of their matches to top Group C.
Los Blancos were 2-1 winners over Rayo in the corresponding game last season, but they suffered a 3-2 defeat when the two teams locked horns in the reverse fixture last November.
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Rayo have also made a strong start to the season, boasting a record of four wins, five draws and two defeats from their 11 league games, which has left them in eighth position in the table on 17 points.
The capital side are just two points behind fifth-placed Real Sociedad and have proved to be a tough nut to crack this term, although too many draws have prevented them from pushing higher up the division.
Francisco's side have actually drawn five of their last six in the league, including a 2-2 with Real Sociedad last weekend, but their low-point of the season thus far was a 7-0 home defeat to Atletico Madrid.
Rayo were in Copa del Rey first-round action on Wednesday evening, meanwhile, recording a 6-0 victory over Atletico Lugones to comfortably progress to the next stage.
Los Franjirrojos have finished 12th and 11th in their last two La Liga campaigns but look well-equipped to push higher up the division this term, and they are more than capable of making this a difficult match for Real Madrid.
Team News
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Real Madrid will again be without the services of Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao due to long-term knee injuries, while Dani Ceballos is still unavailable, but Arda Guler is fit enough for the squad and could debut here.
The home side will also be missing Aurelien Tchouameni due to a broken foot, with the midfielder potentially unavailable for the remainder of the year.
Eduardo Camavinga is likely to now line up at the base of the Real Madrid midfield for the foreseeable future, while there is expected to be a change at left-back here, as Ferland Mendy is out due to a muscular issue, so Fran Garcia could be brought back into the side.
Luka Modric and Joselu are pushing for spots in the XI, but it appears likely that both will be named on the bench once again, with Toni Kroos and Rodrygo keeping their starting positions.
Rayo, meanwhile, have a fully-fit squad for this match, with the team not reporting any issues in the build-up.
Head coach Francisco could name the same side that took to the field for the first whistle against Real Sociedad last weekend, with Oscar Trejo playing behind the centre-forward Raul de Tomas.
Radamel Falcao and Bebe both scored twice against Atletico Lugones in the Copa del Rey during the week, but it seems unlikely that either will be considered for starting roles at Bernabeu.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, F Garcia; Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos; Bellingham; Vinicius, Rodrygo
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Balliu, Mumin, Lejeune, Espino; Palazon, U Lopez, Trejo, Ciss, A Garcia; De Tomas
We say: Real Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano
Rayo are a tricky team to beat, and this is unlikely to be a straightforward match for Real Madrid. The hosts were excellent in the second half against Barcelona, though, and we are expecting them to navigate their way to another three points in Spain's top flight.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
