In the 24th round of the Spanish La Liga on February 15, 2026, a match between Rayo Vallecano and Atletico will take place. This is not the most high-profile capital derby, in which the visitors clearly plan to claim victory.
The team from “Vallecas” only managed to take eighth place from Osasuna in the spring due to additional indicators. This was enough to qualify for the Conference League, where, starting from the summer qualification, the Spaniards will soon begin their fight in the playoffs. However, on the domestic front and in the cup, they lost to Alaves in January, and a full-fledged battle for survival has started in La Liga. Moreover, the match against Oviedo was disrupted due to the poor quality of the pitch—a scandal exacerbated by the players’ complaints about the infrastructure.
Their much more prestigious neighbor in 2024/2025 managed to reclaim their usual third place in La Liga—but have not managed either then or now to mount a real challenge against Real Madrid and Barcelona. Instead, they have to battle Villarreal for third place. Especially given that they only managed a goalless draw with Levante and lost to Betis. However, they thrashed Betis 5-0 in the cup, and then produced a convincing first leg in the semi-final against Barcelona. At least in the Champions League, despite some weak matches in January, they advanced to the playoffs.
De Frutos and his teammates average 0.82 goals per match scored, while conceding an average of 1.36. Simeone’s men, with 1.65 goals scored per round, traditionally concede little—just 0.78 on average.
Rayo Vallecano vs Atletico: Key Stats and Trends
Rayo Vallecano have lost four matches in a row
41% of Rayo Vallecano’s matches end with goals from both teams and the average total goals per match is 2.18
Atletico have won three of their last seven matches
48% of Atletico Madrid’s matches end with goals from both teams and the average total goals per match is 2.43
Rayo Vallecano vs Atletico: Probable Starting Line-ups
Rayo Vallecano (probable line-up): Batalla – Chavarría, Ciss, Lejeune, Espino – Díaz, Óscar Valentín, Álvaro García, Palazón, Martín – De Frutos
Atletico (probable line-up): Oblak – Ruggeri, Lenglet, Le Normand, Molina – N. González, Cardozo, Barrios, Llorente – Almada, Álvarez
Previous Encounters: Rayo Vallecano vs Atletico
In the last thirteen head-to-head meetings, there have been only two draws—all other matches were won by Simeone’s side.
