Celta Vigo vs Rayo Vallecano

Two teams vying for a spot in European competitions will face off as Celta Vigo host Rayo Vallecano at Balaidos on Sunday.

Currently, the home side sits in seventh place in the La Liga table, having earned 52 points from 36 matches, while the visitors trail by four points in eighth position.

Celta Vigo are on the verge of achieving a top-seven finish for the first time since the 2015-16 season, having triumphed in three of their last four games.

The Galician outfit secured home wins against Villarreal and Sevilla, with a narrow loss to Real Madrid in between, before narrowly defeating Real Sociedad 1-0 in their Tuesday clash at the Reale Arena.

Alfon Gonzalez netted his fifth La Liga goal of the campaign to secure Celta’s third victory in five away matches, ensuring they head into the second-to-last matchday with a four-point buffer over Rayo Vallecano and Osasuna.

Under Claudio Giraldez’s leadership, Celta will aim to string together three consecutive La Liga wins for the first time since May 2021, a feat that would lock in their Europa League qualification with one match remaining.

Los Celestes can take confidence from their impressive home form, boasting the fifth-best home record in the league with 11 wins, three draws, and four losses in their 18 La Liga matches at Balaidos this season.

Additionally, Celta have remained unbeaten in their last six home games against Rayo (W4, D2), keeping clean sheets in each of their most recent three home encounters with the visitors.

Rayo Vallecano, meanwhile, may still have their sights set on overtaking Celta for a Europa League spot, but their primary focus will be fending off challengers for eighth place to end a 24-year absence from European competition.

Managed by Inigo Perez, Rayo currently hold the Conference League qualification position but face pressure from Osasuna, who are level on points just outside the top eight, as well as Mallorca and Valencia, who sit one and three points back in ninth and tenth, respectively.

After managing only one point from three matches in April, Rayo reignited their European aspirations with back-to-back 1-0 wins over Getafe and Las Palmas.

They seemed poised for a third straight victory in Thursday’s home match against Real Betis, with Jorge de Frutos and Florian Lejeune scoring to build a two-goal lead by halftime, but second-half strikes from Cucho Hernandez and Isco forced Rayo to settle for a draw.

Rayo will need to bounce back quickly from Thursday’s result as they head to Balaidos, hoping to secure their first away victory against Celta since a 2-0 win in November 2013.

The visitors will also aim to repeat their success from the reverse fixture in January, when they edged out Celta Vigo 2-1 to claim the first leg of a potential league double.