Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano: Three key battles to keep an eye on | OneFootball

After their highly disappointing defeat to Real Betis last week, Real Madrid have another difficult but crucial match awaiting them in La Liga as they face their cross-town rivals, Rayo Vallecano.

This match is scheduled to take place at the Santiago Bernabeu today, and the Merengues will have to ensure they get a win from this game if they are to remain alive in the competition for the La Liga title, where they are three points behind Barcelona and two points behind Atletico Madrid.

But keeping in view the way Rayo have been playing this season, getting a win will not really be easy. Still, the Vikings fans will be hoping the individual quality in their team will be able to get the job done, and there will be three key battles to keep an eye on in this game.

Kylian Mbappe vs Florian Lejeune

Despite his heroics in the UEFA Champions League playoff round against Manchester City, the Frenchman has not been at his best for the last few weeks. After his hat-trick against City in the second leg of this tie, he has been unable to score in the last three games, against Girona, Real Betis, and Atletico Madrid.

Thus, he will be looking to put his goalscoring woes behind him as he takes to the pitch against Rayo Vallecano today. He was unable to play against the Madrid side back in December when the first league match between these two sides ended in a roller coaster of a 3-3 draw.

However, he will be facing one of the best players for the visiting side this season, the centre-back Florian Lejeune. The experienced defender has been putting some consistent displays for his side this season, having kept 6 clean sheets so far. Against, Mbappe, he will be looking to use all his experience to ensure the Frenchman does not pose much danger on the goal.

Jude Bellingham vs Ismaila Ciss

One factor that will make Real Madrid fans look forward to this match will be the return of Jude Bellingham, who has been unable to play in the last three games for Los Blancos because of suspensions in La Liga and UCL. Thus, this will be the first game he plays in quite some time, and he will be quite fresh to help his side get back on track in the league.

He was one of the scorers in the last game between these two sides, as it was his goal that brought the Merengues back on level terms after Rayo had taken a 2-goal lead and Federico Valverde had cut this lead to half with his own goal. The match ultimately ended 3-3, but the Englishman’s contribution was essential in that game, and he will definitely be looking to put in another such performance today.

However, the Senegalese Ismaila Ciss will be tasked by Rayo to ensure Bellingham is not able to deal too much damage to his side. With 1 interception, 1.6 tackles, and 4.5 balls recovered on average in each game, according to Sofascore statistics, there is no doubt that Ciss has the ability to make this game quite tough for the English star.

Alvaro Garcia vs Lucas Vazquez

The 32-year-old winger Alvaro Garcia has been one of the more dangerous attackers for Rayo Vallecano this season, having 3 goals and 3 assists to his name. Against Real Madrid, he will be looking to further add to these numbers.

Luck seems to be on his side as Carlo Ancelotti will have to play Lucas Vazquez on the right flank, as Dani Carvajal is still recovering from his ACL tear and Federico Valverde is also not fully fit, and is unlikely to play this game.

Thus Vazquez, a player who is more comfortable attacking than defending, will have to put up a no-nonsense outing in defence to ensure that Garcia does not prove to be too much of a threat to the Merengues.