Managerless Barcelona are also in action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Celta Vigo, while league-leaders Real Sociedad are not in action until Sunday evening.
Momentum on Madrid’s Side
Carlo Ancelotti’s side have yet to hit their peak this season, but that could be a good thing for their fanbase, with Madrid still second in the league table after a stop-start campaign.
Ancelotti’s men have won four of their previous five games in all competitions, with two of those wins coming in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk.
@MrAncelotti: "We're playing against a team that has shown their quality. They're very direct, they defend well. We need to adapt ourselves to the situations of the match."#RealMadridRayo pic.twitter.com/HSaKU1IAi5
— Real Madrid C.F.
(@realmadriden) November 5, 2021
Since losing to Espanyol in October, Madrid have beaten Barcelona and Elche, and they will fancy their chances of overcoming Vallecano.
Rayo have lost successive away games in the top flight, and they do not have a good record in previous trips to the iconic Santiago Bernabeu. Real have lost only one of their 18 league games against Rayo, with that defeat coming in 1996.
A home win to nil is priced at 29/20, and Madrid got the job done without conceding in the last league meeting at the Bernabeu in 2018.
Barca to Pounce on Celta Vigo’s Woes
Barcelona will be out to win their first league game in four attempts when they travel to Celta Vigo on Saturday afternoon.
Since sacking Ronald Koeman, Barca have drawn 1-1 with Alaves in the Spanish top flight, but they have also beaten Dinamo Kiev in the Champions League.
Former midfielder Xavi appears to be waiting in the wings to replace Koeman, and they seem to be playing Celta Vigo at the right time.
Celta have won just one of their previous five top-flight matches, while their record against Barca is poor.
They’ve picked up just two victories in their last nine games against Barcelona, conceding at least two goals in seven of those matches.
Goals have also started to be hard to come by, with Celta failing to score in four of their last five, and an away win to nil is worth considering at 29/10.
Sociedad Can Make it 16 Unbeaten
Sociedad have been the surprise package in La Liga, and they have recovered from an opening-weekend defeat to enjoy a 15-match unbeaten run.
That has allowed them to look down on the rest of the division, and we discussed earlier, they could be knocked off top spot by Real Madrid.
However, they should regain control on Sunday night, when they travel to Osasuna, who are without a win in three.
Osasuna have not beaten Sociedad in any competition since 2012, and they have won just one of their previous seven at home.
At odds against, Sociedad look like a fantastic bet at 7/5 as they look to make it 16 unbeaten this season.
*All odds correct at time of writing