While Barcelona is taking a week off from La Liga action to compete in the FIFA Clubs World Cup, Real Madrid needs to go to business and make up for lost ground before its too late. Their 1-0 loss to Villarreal last week made them miss a glorious chance to close the gap with the Cules, which stand five points ahead of them.
Real Madrid Preview
The Merengues are struggling to please any audience so far this season. While the 8-0 victory over Malmo can be an example of what this team can do, such effort has not been replicated so far this season. Real Madrid has won five of their last six game by two or more goals, but it is their losses against Villarreal and Barcelona along with their early elimination in the Spanish Cup that really put a stain in Rafa Benitez tenure as coach.
At this point of the season last year, Madrid was still commanding La Liga with a wide gap over Barcelona. In this game against Rayo, they might close their gap on the Catalan side but they won't be able to catch up before Christmas.
Marcelo seems to have done full recovery by now and is ready to go against Rayo. It is Daniel Carbajal and Raphael Varane who are in the injury list for the team from the Spanish capital now. Toni Kroos may be absent for this game as he has been dealing with an illness the whole week.
Karim Benzema just turned 28 this week and he might want to celebrate it with another goal. The frenchman has scored eight goals in La Liga so far this season, but has not found the net in three of their last four games in the Spanish competition. Cristiano Ronaldo is still leading this team with 10 goals, four behind Neymar Jr.
Rafa Benitez knows that even knowing that he has only lost three games this season, it can be considered a crisis for his team. The Spanish manager may have found out that any manager can get the boot after Jose Mourinho just got it with Chelsea this past week. Florentino Perez knows that the pressure is higher than ever.
Rayo Vallecano Preview
Rayo is a team that knows they are not the favorites to win this game. Their coach, Paco Jemez, is conscious that they are also on a crisis that has been determined more by their results than the expectations. The team is not expected to finish among the top five, but they also don't like losing four of their last five games.
Jemez claimed that he would rather be in Benitez' shoes than in his own. Right now Rayo is in the relegation zone as they stand in 18th place of La Liga, 16 points behind their next opponent and having played only 15 games so far this season.
Rayo is only three points ahead of Levante, the last place in the competition. With many teams in the bottom of the table not far from one another, this is a good time to make something happen.
Their defense is the worst in the league along with Levante. Both teams have received 27 goals so far. In their last six games, they have conceded 11 goals and only scored six. Surprisingly, they have scored at least once in five of those games and it was against Athletic Club that they did not manage to score.
When playing on the road this season, Rayo is showing some poor performances. They have one win, one draw and five losses. Their manager hopes that playing in such a big and historic venue like the Santiago Bernabeu, can inspire his players to play their best game in the season before Christmas when they need it the most.
Head To Head
The last time that Rayo Vallecano defeated Real Madrid happened in 1997. The last time that Madrid fell to their next opponent at the Bernabeu was in 1996, meaning, that streak is almost 20-years strong. Overall, Real Madrid has won 19 of the 22 games played among both teams. Only one draw has been recorded since 1993 and it happened in the year 2000. In their last two games, the Merengues have outscored Rayo 7-1.
Which channel is broadcasting Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano on TV or Online?
- In the USA at 10:00 EST on: fuboTV, beIN Sports en Español, beIN Sports USA, beIN SPORTS CONNECT U.S.A.
- In Spain at 16:00 CET on: Movistar TV Fútbol, Abono Futbol, Canal+ Liga / HD
- In the UK at 15:00 GMT on: Sky Sports 2/HD, SKY GO Extra, NOW TV UK, Sky Go UK
- In Canada at 09:00 CST on: beIN Sports en Español, beIN SPORTS CONNECT Canada, beIN Sports Canada
For comprehensive view of global broadcast listings, visit the Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano broadcast page
*Note: Live broadcast listings are subject to change*
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
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