Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona: La Liga Prediction (31.08.2025)

On 31 August 2025 at 21:30 CEST, Rayo Vallecano will face Barcelona in the third round of La Liga 2025/26. Bookmakers consider the visitors clear favorites. Let’s look at the teams’ current form and provide a prediction.

Rayo Vallecano

The “Bees” play an energetic style that demands high physical effort, making squad rotation and fatigue key factors across the season. Rayo use a high defensive line and frequent pressing, which proved highly effective in their opener: a 3:1 away win over Girona under Iñigo Pérez.

In the second round, however, they couldn’t break down organized Athletic Bilbao, losing narrowly to a penalty goal. It’s also worth noting that Rayo approach this match after a Conference League qualifier against Neman.

Barcelona

Barcelona began their La Liga campaign with a 3:0 win over Mallorca. The attacking trio – Raphinha, Torres, and Yamal – all scored. Still, the performance raised questions: Mallorca had two players sent off by the 39th minute, leaving Barça with a big numerical advantage that many felt they should have exploited more.

The second game showed familiar habits: a comeback victory. Against newly promoted Levante, Barcelona trailed 0:2 at halftime but roared back with three unanswered goals in the second half for a 3:2 win.

Head-to-head statistics

In the last five meetings, Barcelona hold the advantage with 3 wins to Rayo Vallecano’s 1. One game ended in a draw. Over 2.5 goals was successful in 3 of those 5 matches.

Prediction

For Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona, expect a high-scoring clash. Both sides push defensive lines high and attack aggressively.

Our pick: Over 3 goals at odds 1.67