Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano Preview

Topics: Barcelona, Rayo Vallecano, La Liga, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta

A convincing victory over Milan which helped the Blaugrana qualify for the next round of the Champions League appears to have them back on track.

Barcelona's surprising, yet deserved defeat at the San Siro had many football personalities questioning the Blaugrana and whether or not they were beginning to fall off the pedestal. Their 4-0 victory in the second match at the Nou Camp should have been enough to silence some of those who were starting to question them.

Up next will be a Rayo Vallecano side that has not even slightly enjoyed their previous matches with the Blaugrana. From their last four matches with Barcelona, Rayo has been outscored 19-0. Those are not numbers that will give your squad confidence, but at least scoring a goal will be an improvement.

Spanish midfielder Xavi returned from injury to help orchestrate the 4-0 comeback against Milan, but the Barcelona midfielder reinjured himself and will be unavailable for Sunday's match. Another injury for the hosts will be Carles Puyol who underwent surgery on his knee and will be sidelined for about a month.

Considering how bad they have been against Barcelona in recent matches, Rayo will travel to the Nou Camp with a number of injuries.

Apart from calling up 17-year-old Isaac Gomez into the squad for this match, Paco Jemez will be without Leo Baptistao, Javi Fuego and Jose Manuel Casado all due to suspension.

Their last meeting saw Tito Vilanova's side manage their first five goal victory with him as manager. Coming off such a big victory over AC Milan, the visitors could be in for another long 90 minutes.