Rayo Vallecano's six-game unbeaten run will be put to the test on Sunday afternoon, with Real Sociedad making the trip to Estadio de Vallecas in Spain's top flight.
The home side are currently seventh in the La Liga table, boasting 16 points from their opening 10 matches, while Real Sociedad are fifth, collecting 18 points from their first 10 games of the season.
Match preview
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Rayo's low-point of the season came at the end of August, when they suffered a staggering 7-0 home defeat to Atletico Madrid, and the capital outfit were then beaten 1-0 by Real Betis a few days later.
The response has been strong, though, with Francisco's side unbeaten in each of their six games since, beating Alaves and Las Palmas in addition to drawing with Villarreal, Cadiz, Mallorca and Sevilla.
A record of four wins, four draws and two defeats from 10 league matches this season has seen Rayo collect 16 points, which is enough for seventh spot in the table, only two points behind their opponents in this match.
Los Franjirrojos have finished 12th and 11th in their last two La Liga seasons following their promotion back to this level, but they certainly look capable of pushing higher this term, with eighth, which was secured during the 2012-13 campaign, a realistic target for the capital side.
Rayo have not managed to beat Real Sociedad in La Liga since January 2015, while the Basque side won both league games during the 2022-23 campaign, including a 2-0 victory in the corresponding fixture.
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Real Sociedad will also enter this match in strong form, winning six of their last seven games in all competitions, including a 1-0 victory away to Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The Basque outfit are top of their European section on seven points, level with second-placed Inter Milan but crucially four points ahead of Red Bull Salzburg in third, so the La Liga outfit are already in a brilliant position to advance to the knockout round of the competition.
Imanol Alguacil's side are also going well in the league this season, picking up 18 points from 10 matches to sit in fifth position, but they are four points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid, who have a game in hand, so there is a danger that the top four, which includes Girona, could start to break clear.
Real Sociedad suffered a 2-1 defeat to Atletico before the international break but managed to bounce back in the league last weekend, beating Mallorca 1-0 in front of their own supporters.
There are some huge games to come for the White and Blues, namely back-to-back fixtures against Barcelona and Benfica in La Liga and the Champions League at the start of November.
Team News
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Rayo remain without the services of attacker Randy Nteka, who is still struggling with a muscular issue, while Oscar Valentin is suspended following his red card against Las Palmas last time out.
Valentin picked up two yellow cards in the final exchanges of his side's 1-0 win, so there will need to be a change in the middle of the park, with Unai Lopez widely expected to receive the call.
Jorge de Frutos is also pushing to be involved in an attacking area this weekend, while it would not be a surprise to see Sergio Camello introduced for Raul de Tomas in the centre-forward role.
As for Real Sociedad, Hamari Traore, Andre Silva, Alvaro Odriozola, Kieran Tierney and Martin Merquelanz are on the sidelines due to fitness issues.
Traore's injury came against Benfica in the Champions League, and there is now expected to be a start at right-back for Aritz Elustondo this weekend.
Head coach Alguacil will need to make a final check on the fitness of his players before naming his side here, but it could be almost identical to the one that featured last time out, with Mikel Oyarzabal potentially playing as the centre-forward, leaving the likes of Carlos Fernandez, Mohamed Cho and Umar Sadiq on the bench.
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Balliu, Aridane, Lejeune, Espino; Palazon, Ciss, U Lopez, A Garcia; De Frutos, Camello
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Elustondo, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Munoz; Mendez, Zubimendi, Merino; Kubo, Oyarzabal, Barrenetxea
We say: Rayo Vallecano 1-1 Real Sociedad
These are the type of matches that Real Sociedad will need to win if they are to finish in the top four this season, but Rayo are not losing games at the moment, and we are struggling to back the visitors considering their exertions in the Champions League. A draw would not be the worst result for Real Sociedad, and we are expecting the points to be shared here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
