Bottom-of-the-table Real Oviedo face a must-win encounter at the Estadio Carlos Tartiere as they welcome a Rayo Vallecano side that remains just a handful of points off the European spots despite recent draws.

Current Form

Real Oviedo and Rayo Vallecano arrive with contrasting confidence levels, with the hosts still searching for their first victory under Luis Carrión while the visitors have lost only once in their last five La Liga outings.

Oviedo’s most recent match ended in another frustrating defeat, continuing a winless streak that has left them rooted to the foot of the table with only eight points from the opening rounds.

Since Carrión took charge four games ago, the Asturians have collected just two draws and suffered two losses, extending the new manager’s personal La Liga winless run to 13 matches across his spells at Oviedo and Las Palmas – a dubious record that could enter the history books with another failure here.

Rayo Vallecano, by contrast, produced one of the results of the weekend last time out by holding league leaders Real Madrid to a creditable goalless draw at the Bernabéu.

Although that result marked a second consecutive league game without scoring, Iñigo Pérez’s men had previously enjoyed a three-match winning streak and remain unbeaten in four of their last five, keeping them firmly in touch with the European race.

Home and Away Form

Real Oviedo have found life extremely tough at the Carlos Tartiere since their emotional top-flight return, managing only one victory all season on home soil while failing to find the net in each of their last three league fixtures in front of their own fans.

The Carbayones have looked vulnerable defensively and toothless in attack at home, shipping goals regularly and struggling to turn possession into clear chances against organised opponents.

Rayo Vallecano have actually been more effective away from Vallecas this campaign, collecting the majority of their points on the road through a combination of resilient defending and clinical counter-attacking.

Los Franjirrojos have shown they can frustrate even the very best teams on their travels, as demonstrated against Real Madrid, and will fancy their chances of exploiting Oviedo’s current lack of confidence in front of goal.

Head-to-Head Record

The last five competitive meetings have favoured Rayo Vallecano, who have lost just one of those encounters (W2, D2) since the sides were regular Segunda División rivals.

Prior to that, Real Oviedo dominated top-flight clashes, winning each of the four La Liga meetings during the 1990s and early 2000s, including both fixtures in the 2000/01 season.

Across all competitions, the head-to-head record is remarkably even: in 28 previous encounters Rayo hold a slender advantage with 10 wins to Oviedo’s 9, alongside 9 draws, and matches between the pair have historically been low-scoring affairs.

Team News

Real Oviedo continue to sweat on the fitness of several key players, with Colombian forward Santiago Colombatto still nursing a muscle problem and Spanish winger Santi Cazorla a major doubt after picking up a knock on international duty with the veterans’ side.

Luis Carrión is expected to keep faith with the 4-2-3-1 system he has deployed since arriving, though pressure is mounting for changes if results do not improve quickly.

Rayo Vallecano travel with almost a fully fit squad, with only long-term absentee Randy Nteka (ACL) unavailable and Álvaro García shaking off a minor issue to be declared fit.

Iñigo Pérez is likely to name an unchanged XI from the draw against Real Madrid, sticking with the compact 4-4-2 that has brought recent stability and road points.