Rayo Vallecano will host the upbeat Barcelona in a La Liga fixture at the Estadio del Rayo Vallecano, Thursday.
The home side have remained unbeaten in their last seven games and that has helped them move out of the relegation zone.
That unbeaten run may end when they take on Barcelona, Thursday, who are in red-hot form. The Spanish giants will look to make history as they have equalled the number of unbeaten games run (34) with Real Madrid. Luis Enrique and his boys will surely look to make that 35 when they will face Rayo Vallecano.
However, Barcelona is not taking their opponents lightly and the boss has asked the players to be wary of Rayo's attack ahead of the game.
"You can never be relaxed against Rayo. It will be an uncomfortable game. What I like about Rayo is their love to attack and desire to complicate life for their opponent as close as possible to your area. I love Paco Jémez's philosophy," Luis Enrique was quoted as saying by the officialwebsite of Barcelona.
"What Paco Jémez is doing deserves a lot of credit. Rayo continue to be a difficult team to play, and it has been four seasons that they have been playing good football in the top division, which is very commendable."
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez have all been in incredible goal-scoring form. The terrific trio might be rested for this match, as Enrique might rotate his squad for this match against Vallecano. However, he has not confirmed whether he will rest all the three or not.
"Resting the three forwards will depend on what I see fit. What I do is always for the benefit of the team, without committing risks," Enrique added.
"Any lapse in concentration can prove costly. The league is still open because there are plenty of points still at stake."
Meanwhile, Rayo Vallecano will be without the services of Miku, Pablo Hernandez and Jozabed as they are all sidelined due to injuries. Their manager Paco Jemez is still hopeful about getting a positive result against Barcelona.
"The team is on the right track, but there is room for improvement. We made the [Real Betis] game very difficult for ourselves. We conceded two early goals, so we had to readjust and play with a back three,"Jemez was quoted as saying by IBTimes UK.
Probable lineups:
Rayo Vallecano: Carlos; Quini, Ze Castro, Llorente, Tito; Trashorras, Iturra; Embarba, Piti, Bebe; Manucho.
Barcelona: Bravo; Vidal, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Rakitic, Roberto, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar
Where to Watch Live:
Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona is scheduled for 9 p.m. CET (1.30 a.m. IST, 8 p.m. GMT, 3 p.m. ET) start, with live TV coverage in India on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD. Viewers in India can also watch the match via live streaming online on Sony Liv.
Audience in Spain can catch the match Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona live on Canal+ Liga and Movistar Futbol.
Fans in UK can watch Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona live on Sky Sports 5 and Sky Sports HD 5. Live streaming option will be available on SkyGo.
Bein Sports will broadcast the La Liga match between Rayo Vallecano and Barcelona live on TV in Australia, USA, Canada, the Middle East and North Africa, while the live stream option is on Bein Sports Connect.
