Rayo vs Real Madrid: times, TV and how to watch online

Rayo vs Real Madrid live online: scores, stats and updates, La Liga

Rayo host Real Madrid on Saturday looking to arrest a run of four consecutive Liga defeats that has left the side from the south of capital’s European challenge firmly by the wayside. Eight rounds of domestic fixtures ago, Andoni Iraola’s team were in fourth, practically unbeatable at home and gaining plaudits for their adventurous style of play, which is hardly standard practice for promoted teams. Two straight losses in Vallecas has dented confidence and the four defeats Rayo have endured have been against sides of more or less their own weight division - Athletic, Celta, Osasuna and Elche - and have seen them drop to 11th. The Liga lore that there is never a particularly good time to play Real Madrid has never been truer. Rayo are in desperate need of a boost before their Copa semi-final return leg away at Betis next week and Carlo Ancelotti suddenly has more players than he can use.

Real Madrid back to full strength for Rayo

The Italian has had his fair share of injury issues this season but has Ferland Mendy, Jesús Vallejo and Dani Carvajal all back in defence, allowing Lucas Vázquez to be included in the squad for Rayo in his regular position as a midfielder. Dani Ceballos has returned from a lengthy lay-off and Karim Benzema and Mariano are available to bolster the attack, which has been an area of experimentation in recent weeks with Isco, Marco Asensio and Gareth Bale all occupying the central role in the Frenchman’s absence. Like Iraola, Ancelotti will also have half an eye on a bigger fish in the form of PSG but he has two weeks to fine tune for that game, a luxury not afforded to his counterpart on Saturday.

The summer acquisition of Radamel Falcao raised a few eyebrows in Vallecas and beyond but the Colombia forward proved an instant hit, scoring five goals in his first eight league games. However, those have now dried up, Falcao not finding the net since November, precisely against Real Madrid in a 2-1 defeat at the Bernabéu and Rayo as a whole have been struggling for goals, scoring just twice in their last six Liga outings. Still, the promoted side are 11 points clear of the drop zone and have little reason not to take a swing on Saturday to try and repeat the trick they pulled off in 2018-19, snatching a 1-0 victory in Vallecas to record their only Liga win over Madrid in the last decade.

What time does Rayo-Real Madrid kick off?

The LaLiga Santander game between Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid will take place on Saturday 26 February, 2022, with a local kick-off time of 18:30. That’s 12:30 US (ET) and 09:30 US (PT).

Find out what time Rayo-Real Madrid starts elsewhere in the world.

Where can I watch Rayo vs Real Madrid in the US and UK?

In the US and UK, the following television channels and online services will be broadcasting the LaLiga match:

US: ESPN+

Rayo vs Real Madrid: live AS USA coverage

You’ll also be able to follow live-text coverage of Rayo vs Real Madrid right here at AS. We'll be building up to the game from about an hour ahead of kick-off, before taking you through the action at the Estadio de Vallecas as it unfolds.