The 14th day of La Liga continues with FC Barcelona’s trip to Rayo Vallecano (kick-off 2 p.m., match to follow live on FM). Third in the championship with 30 points, Barça is chasing Real (32 pts) and the surprising leader Girona (34 pts) and cannot let points slip away on Saturday afternoon in Vallecas. For its part, Rayo is firmly established in the middle of the table (10th, 18 pts) but remains in three matches without a victory.
For this meeting, Xavi is deprived of Gavi for the rest of the season while Ter Stegen is out following lower back pain. Pena will therefore keep the Catalan goal while De Jong, after almost two months of absence, returns to the midfield alongside Pedri and Romeu. Behind, Christensen is preferred to Koundé in the company of Martinez while Baldé and Cancelo will be the full-backs. In front Lewandowski is supported by Torres and Yamal. On the Rayo side, Machis is absent while Garcia is suspended. Francisco Rodriguez then opts for a 4-4-2 with a Frenchman in the starting lineup: Lejeune in central defense. We also find players who have played in Ligue 1 such as full-back Balliu (Metz) or midfielder Trejo (Toulouse).
The official compositions:
Rayo Vallecano: Dimitrievski – Balliu, Lejeune, Mumin, Espino – Palazon, Unai López, Valentin, De Frutos – Trejo, Camello
FC Barcelona: Pena – Cancelo, Christensen, Inigo Martinez, Baldé – Pedri, Romeu, De Jong – Yamal, Lewandowski, Ferran Torres.
