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Real Madrid logo
La Liga
Nov 8, 2014 at 7pm UK
 
Rayo Vallecano logo

5-1

Bale (9'), Ramos (40'), Kroos (55'), Benzema (59'), Ronaldo (83')
FT(HT: 2-1)
Bueno (44')

Preview: Real Madrid vs. Rayo Vallecano

Sports Mole looks ahead to this Saturday's La Liga encounter between leaders Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano.

Real Madrid can stretch their winning run in La Liga to eight consecutive games if they snatch all three points from Saturday's encounter against Rayo Vallecano at the Bernabeu.

Carlo Ancelotti's side are in scintillating form having won their last 12 games in all competitions, and they head into this weekend's league match on the back of a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in the Champions League.

While Brendan Rodgers's side gave a good account of themselves in Spain, Los Blancos were comfortable throughout and will have one eye on Barcelona's early kickoff against Almeria as they try to stay at the top of the league table.

Madrid have a one-point lead over Valencia and Atletico Madrid, while rivals Barcelona reside just two points below in fourth place.

In contrast, Rayo are already 13 points adrift of Saturday's opponents after 10 games and they travel to the Bernabeu having suffered back-to-back defeats against Malaga and Eibar.

On Monday, Paco Jemez's side came close to taking a point from Eibar, but an 86th-minute winner from Mikel Arruabarrena sealed a 3-2 victory for the visitors.

Traditionally, Rayo have not had much luck against the Spanish giants having lost all of their last five meetings, and matches have been high-scoring with Madrid storming to a 5-0 triumph at the Bernabeu in March last season.

Due to Madrid's impressive form, Ancelotti is not expected to make too many changes, especially with Cristiano Ronaldo at the helm as he aims to add to his already 22-goal tally in all competitions this season.

Gareth Bale could return to the starting lineup following a bout of injury, which would result in either Isco or James Rodriguez making way for the Welshman.

For the visitors, Leo Baptistao is likely to lead the line in the hope of causing an upset to league leaders.

Recent form

Real Madrid: WWWWWW

Rayo Vallecano: LLWLWW

Possible starting lineups

Real Madrid: Casillas; Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Isco, Modric, Kroos, Bale; Benzema, Ronaldo

Rayo Vallecano: Tono; Tito, Amaya, Ze Castro, Nacho; Baena, Trashorras; Aquino, Bueno, Kakuta; Baptistao

Sports Mole says: 4-0


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Written by
Danielle Joynson
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Eibar's coach Gaizka Garitano reacts during the Spanish league football match SD Eibar vs Real Sociedad at the Ipurua stadium in Eibar on August 24, 2014
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid19134243192443
2Atletico MadridAtletico18125133122141
3Barcelona19122551222938
4Athletic Bilbao19106329171236
5Villarreal188643430430
6Mallorca199371921-230
7Real Sociedad187471613325
8GironaGirona187472625125
9Real BetisBetis186752122-125
10Osasuna186752327-425
11Celta Vigo187382728-124
12Rayo Vallecano185762021-122
13Las PalmasLas Palmas186482327-422
14Sevilla186482027-722
15Leganes184681728-1118
16AlavesAlaves184592130-917
17Getafe183781115-416
18Espanyol1843111630-1415
19Valencia1826101728-1112
20Real ValladolidValladolid1833121237-2512


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