Rayo Vallecano continue creating their non-loss series of La Liga matches when they remain invincible on Sunday evening to face Osasuna in El Sadar Stadium.
The visitors come to the game placed ninth in the La Liga standings having 25 points, won in the first nineteen games of the season, while Osasuna is 11th with the same amount of points scored in the same number of meetings.
Osasuna will come into Sunday’s match in great form after emerging 3-2 winners in the Copa del Rey last-16 first-leg against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday evening; the holders are out of the competition.
Segunda Division side Los Rojillos stood 11th in the La Liga last year, and this is the place they are currently occupying at the end of 19 games in the 2024-25 season which has allowed them to claim 25 points won in 19 games which include six wins, seven draws and six losses.
Osasuna has 9 points to places from the relegation zone they have 3 points from the 7th placed Real Sociedad, so it definitely has been a decent first half of the season and will be expecting a minimum of top 10.
And actually, Los Rojillos are the holders of the fifth-place best home record of La Liga teams in the season with 18 points earned in 10 rounds of home meeting, while Rayo has only 13 points in 10 played away games.
Rayo were also in Copa del Rey action on Thursday and lost.on Thursday, they were knocked out of the Copa del Rey after losing 3-1 to Real Sociedad meaning the Madrid based side now has only La Liga to compete in this season.
It finished 2-1 at Celta Vigo last saturday, and they are on a run of five consecutive games without a defeat in the Spanish top division, draws against Real Madrid and Villarreal in the mid of December.
The capital club had a tough season last year, finishing in a disappointing 17th place, leaving plenty of room for improvement. It's hard to imagine them getting pulled into a relegation struggle this time around.
Osasuna will once again be without Bryan Zaragoza, who is sidelined with a fractured metatarsal. However, the rest of the squad is in great shape, with Iker Munoz making a successful return from injury off the bench against Athletic. Ante Budimir shone in Osasuna's win, scoring a brace, and will surely be a key figure in attack, having netted 10 goals in La Liga this season.
Ruben Garcia is likely to keep his place in the lineup, but we can expect a few changes from Thursday’s match. Abel Bretones, Jorge Herrando, and Moi Gomez could be brought into the starting XI, given the quick turnaround.
On the other side, Rayo will be missing Pathe Ciss due to suspension, while Joni Montiel and Raul de Tomas are unavailable for selection.
And there's a lot of buzz around Andrei Ratiu, who is expected to make another appearance at right-back. His standout performances this season have reportedly caught the eye of none other than Real Madrid.
However, Vicente Moreno's team did lose to Atletico Madrid 1-0 in La Liga last weekend, and they have now lost seven straight games in Spain's top division since losing to Real Valladolid at the beginning of November.
The head-to-head record puts Los Franjirrojos in ninth place, despite having the same record as Osasuna this season—six wins, seven draws, and six losses from 19 games. Earlier in the season, they defeated Sunday's opponents 3-1 in Madrid.
Despite losing 1-0 on their most recent trip to El Sadar in December 2023, Rayo has enjoyed their recent encounters with Osasuna, winning three of their past four La Liga games.
