Atletico Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano Preview and Prediction: A Late Finishing Blow

Latest team news for Atletico Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano

Atletico have not suffered any new injuries and have their strongest squad available for Thursday's home game.

Argentinian midfielder Rodrigo De Paul is likely to start alongside Pablo Barrios in midfield.

Antoine Griezmann could also return to the starting lineup, replacing Alexander Sorloth in attack.

Julian Alvarez continues to be Atletico's biggest threat, having scored 14 goals in 32 La Liga matches this season.

On the visitors' side, Rayo Vallecano will be without Abdul Mumin and Jonathan Montiel due to knee and hamstring injuries.

Sergio Camello is in the final stages of recovery from a foot injury, but it is highly unlikely he will be able to play at the Metropolitano.

Coach Inigo Perez may refresh the midfield by giving Unai Lopez a starting place, after the player has only come on as a substitute in the last two matches.

Latest predicted lineups for Atletico Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano

Atletico Madrid:
Oblak; Llorente, Gimenez, Le Normand, Galan; Simeone, De Paul, Barrios, Gallagher; Alvarez, Griezmann

Rayo Vallecano:
Batalla; Ratiu, Lejeune, Ciss, Chavarria; Valentin, Lopez; De Frutos, Diaz, Garcia; Nteka

Latest football match prediction: Atletico Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano

The 2024–25 season had promised to be a successful one for Atletico Madrid as they entered March, but things quickly fell apart in their last nine official matches, which were marked by disappointment.

During this series of matches, Atletico were eliminated from the Champions League after a penalty shootout against their city rivals Real Madrid in the round of 16, and then went on to be knocked out in the Copa del Rey semi-finals after losing to Barcelona with an aggregate score of 4-5.

Furthermore, their hopes of winning La Liga have almost vanished as their poor form has seen them lose three of their last six matches, including a narrow defeat to Las Palmas at Gran Canaria last Saturday.

Diego Simeone's team seemed poised to end the match in a goalless draw, but a defensive error allowed Javi Munoz to score the decisive goal in the 93rd minute, resulting in Atletico's second consecutive defeat at Gran Canaria.

Despite being 13 points behind the league leaders, Atletico still have reason to be confident of securing points in Thursday's match, as they have been unbeaten in their last 17 encounters with Rayo across all competitions (13 wins, 4 draws).

Los Colchoneros also have an impressive home record this season with 11 wins, 4 draws and only 1 defeat in 16 matches at the Metropolitano in La Liga.

Rayo Vallecano once harbored hopes of qualifying for European competition, but their recent poor form has resulted in only one win in their last nine league matches (three draws, five losses).

The only victory in this run of matches was the 2-0 win away at Alaves late last month, with goals from Pathe Ciss and Pedro Diaz.

However, their momentum was quickly halted when they suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat at home against Espanyol, and then allowed Athletic Club to come from behind to win 3-1 despite Rayo opening the scoring.

Last weekend, they were held to a 1-1 draw at home against Valencia, despite taking the lead thanks to an own goal from Cesar Tarrega, but Umar Sadiq equalized. In total, Rayo have gone five consecutive home games without a win, since their three consecutive victories at Vallecas at the beginning of 2025.

Despite their poor form, the team currently in 10th place still has a chance to compete for a European cup spot, being only two points behind a Conference League qualification spot and three points behind a Europa League qualification spot.

Rayo will look to bolster these hopes with their first win against Atletico since February 2013 (a 2-1 home victory). Their last away win against Atletico in La Liga was in August 1999, a 2-0 victory.

Latest Atletico Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano score prediction

Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.Atletico Madrid vs Rayo Vallecanoas follows:

• Sportsmole:Atletico Madrid 2-0 Rayo Vallecano

• WhoScore:Atletico Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano
• Our newspaper predicts:Atletico Madrid 2-1 Rayo Vallecano

When and where can I watch Atletico Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano live?

To watch the Atletico Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano match live in La Liga, taking place at 2:30 AM on April 25th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.