Barcelona determined to break team’s poor run against Rayo Vallecano under Xavi

FC Barcelona travel to Estadio de Vallecas to take on Rayo Vallecano this Saturday to resume club duties after a gruelling international break, which saw them lose Gavi for the rest of the season through injury.

Interestingly enough, Saturday’s away game marks Xavi’s fourth encounter with Vallencano since taking on the role of Barça coach, and so far, victory has eluded him in every previous match.

During the tie, Barcelona’s focus will extend beyond the fact that they need to retain the league title. Instead, the team will be determined to break a prolonged streak, reports SPORT. 

Vallecano are Xavi’s curse

Barcelona’s last triumphant encounter with Rayo Vallecano at home dates back to the 2018-19 season. During that match, Luis Suarez netted a brace, and Ousmane Dembele sealed a 3-2 victory. 

In the return fixture of the same season, the trio of Gerard Pique, Lionel Messi, and Suarez orchestrated a 3-1 win. Since then, though, Barcelona have struggled to overcome Vallecano.

In the last four games between the two teams, Barcelona have suffered three defeats and managed only a draw.

Interestingly, Vallecano are the only Spanish team that Xavi has been unable to defeat after facing them at least three times. 

Koeman’s record is included

Among Barcelona’s four consecutive winless games, though, Xavi has led the team over the last three games, with the remaining one falling under Ronald Koeman’s tenure.

Xavi is eager to shake off this unwanted streak against Rayo Vallecano, recognizing the importance of securing a victory to stay competitive in the league.

As such, Barcelona cannot afford any setbacks if they hope to successfully defend their league title.

We can expect that the manager will want to end this winless streak against Vallecano, a team that has also troubled Real Madrid this season, especially after failing to win each of his last three games.