Real Madrid seek immediate La Liga response against Rayo Vallecano

Real Madrid will look to return to winning ways in La Liga when they welcome fellow capital club Rayo Vallecano to Santiago-Bernabeu on Saturday evening.

The Merengues are third in the table after losing 1-0 at Real Betis, while Rayo arrive with confidence following a 3-2 victory over Racing de Santander. Real Madrid have taken nine points from a possible 12 and are three points behind leaders Barcelona, who have made a strong start.

Jose Mourinho’s side began their domestic campaign with three successive victories over Espanyol, Real Sociedad and Malaga before their unexpected defeat at Real Betis. They responded in midweek, beating Inter Milan 2-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The hosts will be aware that there is little room for further mistakes in the title race given Barcelona’s early pace. Real Madrid have historically dominated this fixture, recording 34 wins and seven defeats in 48 meetings while scoring 121 goals.

Rayo, however, have proved difficult opponents in recent encounters. They drew four of their past six La Liga matches against Real Madrid before narrowly losing the most recent meeting 2-1 in February 2026.

Rayo finished eighth last season, one point short of the European places, but Benat San Jose’s side have made a more uneven start this term. They sit 14th with four points from four matches, having lost 2-1 at Sevilla, drawn 1-1 and then suffered a 5-2 defeat by FC Barcelona. Their first win came on 5 September, when they collected three important points against Racing de Santander.

Team news

Real Madrid remain without Eder Militao, who has a muscle problem, as well as Rodrygo, Raul Asencio and Ferland Mendy, who are recovering from knee, thigh and hip injuries respectively.

Goalkeeper Andriy Lunin is available again after an infection, while Bernardo Silva, Arda Guler and Eduardo Camavinga return from European suspensions. Aurelien Tchouameni has only just recovered from a muscle issue and is expected to start on the bench.

Kylian Mbappe is set to lead the attack, supported by Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler.

Rayo’s unavailable players include Augusto Batalla, Jozhua Vertrouwd, Luiz Felipe and Isi Palazon, who have leg, hamstring, thigh and muscle injuries. Fran Perez and Jorge de Frutos are suspended, while Marash Kumbulla remains a doubt with a muscle problem.

Sergio Camello offers the visitors a major attacking threat after scoring five goals in four appearances this season.

Probable line-ups

Real Madrid: Courtois; Dumfries, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Valverde, Bernardo; Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe.

Rayo Vallecano: Cardenas; Ratiu, Lejeune, Ciss, Pedrosa; Lopez, Valentin, Diaz; Tsitaishvili, Camello, A Garcia.

Rayo have shown they can score, but Real Madrid’s attacking strength at Santiago-Bernabeu is expected to prove decisive. The prediction is for a 3-1 victory for the home side.