Preview: Rayo Vallecano vs AEK Athens - prediction, team news, lineups

Greek giants AEK Athens will head to Spain for Thursday's Conference League quarter-final first leg against Rayo Vallecano.

The winner of the last-eight tie will go on to face Mainz 05 or Strasbourg in the semi-finals.

Match preview

Rayo have made it to the 2025-26 Conference League quarter-finals in their first European campaign since reaching the last eight of the 2000-01 Europa League.

Back then, Rayo fell to a 4-2 defeat to fellow Spanish side Alaves, meaning they head into their upcoming tie against AEK with hopes of reaching the semi-finals of a European competition for the first time in their history.

Inigo Perez's side are still competing in the Conference League after finishing fifth in the league phase with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Samsunspor in the last-16 stage.

Rayo claimed a 3-1 away victory in the first leg, and while they fell to a 1-0 defeat at Vallecas, they ultimately did enough to set up their first-ever meeting against Greek opposition in UEFA competition.

Los Franjirrojos will head into the first leg on the back of a 1-0 home victory over Elche in La Liga, a result that moved them up to 13th spot and six points clear of the drop zone.

They will now look to claim back-to-back home wins for the first time since winning three games in a row at Vallecas in October/November - a run that featured two Conference League victories over Shkendija and Lech Poznan.

Like Rayo, AEK progressed straight to the last 16 after they secured a top-eight finish in the league phase.

The Greek side thrashed last-16 opponents Celje 4-0 in Slovenia, and while they conceded two first-half goals in the home leg, they saw out the remainder of the contest to progress via a 4-2 aggregate scoreline.

While they are dreaming of winning their first-ever European trophy, AEK are also in the hunt for their first Greek Super League title since the 2022-23 campaign.

Marko Nikolic's side moved five points clear at the top of the table with a 1-0 victory over arch-rivals Olympiacos on Sunday, which came courtesy of Aboubakary Koita's fifth-minute effort.

Not only did that result boost AEK's title hopes, but it also extended their unbeaten away run to 14 competitive matches (W10, D4).

That run of results includes wins over Fiorentina, Samsunspor and Celje in the Conference League, which should give Thursday's visitors confidence as they bid to reach the semi-finals of a European competition for the first time since the 1976-77 UEFA Cup.

Rayo Vallecano Conference League form:

W L W W W L

Rayo Vallecano form (all competitions):

D W D L L W

AEK Athens Conference League form:

D W W W W L

AEK Athens form (all competitions):

W W D L W W

Team News

Rayo attacker Fran Perez is currently struggling with an injury, although he is already ruled out of Thursday’s fixture after being omitted from the club’s Conference League squad.

Jozhua Vertrouwd, Abdul Mumin and Randy Nteka are also ineligible to feature in the quarter-final tie.

Midfielder Pathe Ciss will return to the side after serving a one-match ban in La Liga for an accumulation of yellow cards.

As for the visitors, Marko Grujic, Robert Ljubicic, Hakim Sahabo and Joao Mario have been left out of AEK’s Conference League squad list.

Albania international Stavros Pilios is set to return to the starting lineup after missing Sunday’s win over Olympiacos through suspension.

Luka Jovic will continue to offer AEK’s main goal threat, having scored 16 goals in 38 competitive appearances this season, including three in the Conference League.

Rayo Vallecano's possible starting lineup:

Batalla; Ratiu, Lejeune, Felipe, Chavarria; Palazon, Ciss, Lopez; De Frutos, Garcia, Alemao

AEK Athens possible starting lineup:

Strakosha; Rota, Moukoudi, Relvas, Pilios; Pineda, Marin; Koita, Pereyra; Varga, Jovic

We say: Rayo Vallecano 1-1 AEK Athens

Rayo will be desperate to make full use of home advantage, but AEK have proven to be a tough team to beat on their travels in recent times, and we think they will do enough to hold their Spanish hosts to a draw.

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