Barcelona will be looking to continue their charge towards the La Liga title when they welcome out-of-form Rayo Vallecano to Camp Nou on Saturday evening.

As it stands, Barca have a seven-point lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid at the summit, while Rayo are 19th in the table having only collected 23 points from their 26 league fixtures this term.

Barcelona

It is difficult to imagine Barca failing to win La Liga from this position. As mentioned, they have a seven-point lead over second-placed Atletico, while Real Madrid are now 12 points off the summit following Barca's 1-0 victory at the Bernabeu last weekend.

Ernesto Valverde's side have not been perfect in the league this season - dropping points in eight of their 26 matches thus far. A seven-point lead at this stage is a lot, though, especially when considering that Atletico are also still present in the Champions League and will be eyeing a run deep into that competition.

It could be a historic campaign for Barca as they continue to challenge on three fronts. Indeed, as mentioned, they beat Madrid last weekend to move onto 60 points and that victory came three days after a 3-0 success away to Los Blancos, which saw the Catalan giants make yet another Copa del Rey final.

Another domestic double looks on as Valencia wait in the Copa del Rey final, but there is absolutely no question that the Champions League is the trophy Barca really want this term.

Valverde's team will host Lyon next Wednesday in the second leg of their last-16 tie, which is level at 0-0 following the reverse game in France. Lyon were impressive on home soil, but Barca will be the favourites to finish the job at Camp Nou, advancing to the quarter-finals of the European Cup in the process.

Barca had been far from their best entering a difficult run of matches, but they beat Sevilla and Madrid twice between February 23 and March 2 to place themselves in a very strong position.

The Spanish champions did suffer a 1-0 defeat to Girona in the Catalan Super Cup on Wednesday night, but it was a much-changed XI, with perhaps only Samuel Umtiti starting from what is considered their strongest side.

Barca are the huge favourites to triumph against Rayo for obvious reasons, but they have conceded 15 home league goals this season, dropping points in four of their 13 fixtures at Camp Nou, which will hand the visitors a little bit of hope.

Recent form: WDDWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WDWWWL

Rayo Vallecano

Having suffered five straight defeats in La Liga, the last thing that Rayo need at this stage of the campaign is a trip to the Spanish champions, who will not be in the mood to hand out any favours.

Rayo's league form between December 23 and January 28 was excellent - winning four of their five matches and remaining unbeaten in the process. It was a run of results that moved them out of the relegation zone, but they will enter Saturday's clash at Camp Nou having been beaten in their last five.

The capital outfit lost 2-0 at home to Girona last time out, but they gave Atletico a very tough match in Madrid last month before ultimately losing to a second-half Antoine Griezmann effort.

Their situation is far from terminal, meanwhile, with just two points separating them from 17th position. It is actually extremely tight at the bottom of the table as only four points separate the bottom five.

Rayo spent five straight seasons in La Liga between 2011 and 2016 before dropping into the Segunda Division. They finished a disappointing 12th in the second tier at the end of the 2016-17 season, but secured a return to La Liga by winning the league last term.

The Madrid minnows have long been seen as the great entertainers and followers of Spain's top flight will not be surprised to learn that they have the second-worst defensive record in the league this term, having shipped 45 goals in their 26 matches thus far.

Michel's team have won three away matches in La Liga this season, however, and have shipped just 16 goals on their travels, which is far from the worst defensive record in Spain's top flight.

Not many will give Rayo too much of a prayer at Camp Nou this weekend, but Los Vallecanos came close to triumphing in the reverse match earlier this season, with Barca needing two goals in the final three minutes to record a 3-2 success.

Recent form: WLLLLL

Team News

Barca have a huge Champions League game against Lyon next week, but it seems likely that Valverde will select a strong XI as most of the first team will not have played since the clash with Madrid.

Clement Lenglet is suspended, though, which should see Umtiti start alongside Gerard Pique at the back.

Rafinha and Thomas Vermaelen remain unavailable for selection, but Arthur is fully fit following a spell out.

Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele are expected to start as the front three, meaning that Philippe Coutinho will start on the bench once again as the Brazilian continues to struggle for his best form.

As for Rayo, centre-back Abdoulaye Ba is suspended following his red card in their 2-0 home defeat to Girona last time out, while midfielder Gorka Elustondo will miss out through injury.

On-loan Real Madrid forward is Raul de Tomas is Rayo's top scorer this season with 10 goals, and the Spaniard will lead the away side's line with support from Adri Embarba and Oscar Trejo.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Arthur, Busquets, Rakitic; Dembele, L Suarez, Messi

Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Amat, Galvez, Velazquez; Advincula, M Suarez, Comesana, Moreno; Embarba, De Tomas, Trejo

Head To Head

The Catalan giants have incredibly won all 11 of their previous top-flight fixtures, including a 5-2 home success when they last met at Camp Nou in October 2015.

As mentioned, though, Rayo ran Barca extremely close in the reverse fixture earlier this season, with the capital outfit leading 2-1 into the final minutes before Dembele and Luis Suarez struck for the visitors.

We say: Barcelona 4-0 Rayo Vallecano

It is very difficult to predict anything other than a comfortable home win. Rayo have the second-worst defensive record in the league this season, meaning that Barca could run riot in front of their own supporters.