Celta Vigo vs Rayo Vallecano - prediction, team news, lineups

Celta Vigo will be aiming to continue their strong run of form in La Liga when they welcome Rayo Vallecano to Balaidos Stadium on Sunday evening.

The Sky Blues are seventh in the La Liga table, level on points with sixth-placed Real Betis, while Rayo Vallecano are 10th, seven points behind their opponents here.

Match preview

Celta finished seventh in La Liga last season, and that is the position that they currently occupy in Spain's top flight this term, with a strong campaign seeing them collect 29 points from their 19 matches courtesy of a record of seven wins, eight draws and four defeats.

The Sky Blues have won four and drawn one of their last five league matches, while they have six points from a possible six at the start of 2026, beating Valencia 4-1 and Sevilla 1-0.

Claudio Giraldez's side were knocked out of the Copa del Rey last month, but they remain active in the Europa League, sitting 19th in the overall table, four points behind eighth-placed Porto with two matches left to play in the league phase.

Celta have actually only won twice at home in La Liga this season, and they will be welcoming a Rayo Vallecano outfit that have triumphed three times on their travels.

The Sky Blues will be looking to record a third straight win on Sunday before switching their attention to the Europa League and a home fixture against Lille next week.

Rayo Vallecano are also playing European football this season, with the capital outfit securing a spot in the knockout round of the Conference League.

Inigo Perez's side have now been eliminated from the Copa del Rey, though, having suffered a 2-0 defeat to Alaves in the last-16 stage of the tournament on Wednesday night.

Los Franjirrojos have won two of their four matches at the start of 2026, though, including a 2-1 success over Mallorca in Spain's top flight last time out.

Rayo Vallecano have a record of five wins, seven draws and seven defeats from their 19 league matches this season, which has left them 10th in the table on 22 points.

The capital outfit have won 22, lost 21 and drawn 20 of their previous 63 matches against Celta Vigo in all competitions, and it was 1-1 when the pair met for the reverse game earlier this season.

Celta Vigo La Liga form:

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Celta Vigo form (all competitions):

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Rayo Vallecano La Liga form:

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Rayo Vallecano form (all competitions):

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Team News

Celta could have a fully-fit squad for this match, so head coach Giraldez will have a number of difficult decisions to make when it comes to his starting side.

Borja Iglesias is a certainty in the final third of the field, with the striker netting seven times in 18 league appearances during the 2025-26 campaign.

Bryan Zaragoza is likely to retain his spot in attack, but there could be a recall for Williot Swedberg, with Iago Aspas potentially dropping down to the bench.

As for Rayo Vallecano, Pathe Ciss has helped Senegal reach the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, so the midfielder will once again be unavailable for selection.

Checks need to be made on both Sergio Camello and Unai Lopez, while Oscar Valentin is suspended following his red card in the clash with Mallorca.

Four players will also definitely miss out for Rayo Vallecano through injury, with Andrei Ratiu, Luiz Felipe, Abdul Mumin and Diego Mendez absent.

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Radu; Alonso, Starfelt, Rodriguez; Carreira, Roman, Moriba, Mingueza; Swedberg, Iglesias, Zaragoza

Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:

Batalla; Balliu, Lejeune, Mendy, Chavarria; Gumbau, Diaz; A Garcia, Palazon, Martin; De Frutos

We say: Celta Vigo 1-1 Rayo Vallecano

This is a hard match to call, as both teams are enjoying solid campaigns. Celta have home advantage, but they have drawn half of their 10 league games in front of their own fans this season, and we are expecting another stalemate this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.