Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano time, TV channel, live stream, lineups, and betting odds for La Liga match

Kyle Bonn

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Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano time, TV channel, live stream, lineups, and betting odds for La Liga match image

Barcelona open their La Liga campaign as they host mid-table finishers Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

The Blaugrana will start off the campaign with four of its five prized summer acquisitions after successfully registering them just one day before the opening match. In order to pull it off Barcelona had to trigger yet another financial lever to get its books in shape for La Liga to clear the path for Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Andreas Christensen, and Franck Kessie to be available to play against Rayo. Jules Kounde's registration is still pending and he won't feature for now.

The new faces will give Barcelona a much better shot at revenge against a Rayo Vallecano side that did the league double over Barca last season with a pair of 1-0 victories. Rayo somehow managed to shut out an attacking line featuring Sergio Aguero in one match and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the other. Rayo's win at the Camp Nou in April was their only victory across the final four months of the season.

The club from the Vallecas section of Madrid finished 12th in the table despite the late-season slip, which they will hope doesn't translate into similar struggles during the coming 2022/23 league campaign.

LIVE BLOG: All the action from Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou

Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano TV channel, live stream

  UK USA Canada Australia
Date Sat, Aug. 13 Sat, Aug. 13 Sat, Aug. 13 Sun, Aug. 14
Time 20:00 BST 15:00 ET 15:00 ET 05:00 AET
TV channel Premier Sports 1,
LaLiga TV		 ABC, ESPN Deportes  —  —
Streaming Premier Player HD,
Amazon Prime Video		 fuboTV, ESPN+ TSN Optus Sport

UK: The match from the Camp Nou can be seen on Premier Sports 1 or LaLiga TV in the UK. In addition to being a TV channel, LaLiga TV streams on Amazon Prime Video in the region.

USA: Saturday's match between Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano will be broadcast in the USA on ABC (English) and ESPN Deportes (Spanish), which are both available to be streamed on fuboTV. 

Canada: The match will be streamed by La Liga partner TSN in Canada.

Australia: All La Liga matches are available to stream on Optus Sport in Australia.

MORE: How Barcelona can still sign players despite financial issues

Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano lineups

With the summer signings registered and ready to play, Xavi Hernandez opts for this most productive and balanced lineup during preseason. Big names like Memphis Depay, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Frenkie De Jong, and Sergino Dest, who also happen to be in demand on the transfer market, will start on the bench.

Barcelona starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 1-Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (GK) — 4-Ronald Araujo, 15-Andreas Christensen, 24-Eric Garcia, 18-Jordi Alba — 30-Gavi, 5-Sergio Busquets, 8-Pedri — 7-Ousmane Dembele, 9-Robert Lewandowski, 22-Raphinha.

Barcelona subs (12): 26-Inaki Pena (GK), 36-Arnau Tenas (GK), 3-Gerard Pique, 20-Sergi Roberto, 28-Alejandro Balde, 16-Miralem Pjanic, 19-Franck Kessie, 21-Frenkie De Jong, 10-Ansu Fati, 11-Ferran Torres, 14-Memphis Depay, 17-Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

MORE: Full Barcelona squad list & player numbers for 2022/23 season

Rayo Vallecano finished the season in poor form, but still wound up in mid-table (12th). They could use some more production out of the forward position: Sergio Camello has won the starting spot over 36-year-old Colombian forward Radamel Falcao, who lost his place in the lineup last season. Luca Zidane and Sergi Guardiola, the sons of Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola, both left the club this summer and are no longer with the team.

Rayo Vallecano starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 13-Stole Dimitrievski (GK) — 20-Ivan Balliu, 19-Florian Lejeune, 5-Alejandro Catena, 3-Fran Garcia — 17-Unai Lopez, 8-Oscar Trejo, 21-Ismaila Pathe Ciss — 7-Isi Palazon, 16-Sergio Camello, 18-Alvaro Garcia.

Rayo Vallecano subs (12): 1-Diego Lopez (GK), 30-M. Morro (GK), 2-Mario Hernandez, 4-Mario Suarez, 10-Bebe, 11-Randy Nteka, 14-Salvi Sanchez, 23-Oscar Valentin, 22-Jose Pozo, 28-Pablo Munoz, 29-Diego Mendez, 9-Radamel Falcao

MORE: Full rundown of latest Barcelona transfer news for summer 2022 window

Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano best bet & expert prediction

Odds via DraftKings (USA) & Sports Interaction (Canada)

There's little value in picking Barcelona to win, as they are such heavy favorites that it ruins the experience.

Rayo may have held Barcelona off the scoresheet for two full matches last season, but doing so against the revitalized Blaugrana attack will be a completely different task altogether. The likes of Lewandowski, Dembele, Raphinha, and Aubameyang have all had a fantastic preseason and should be primed to fill the back of the net.

While Rayo is a strong defensive team, that Barcelona front line shouldn't be held in check again, leaving Rayo needing to keep up. The mid-table side is not exactly prolific up front, and Barcelona should come away with a victory and a clean sheet.

  • Pick: Barcelona to win to zero (-145 on DraftKings)
  • Prediction: Barcelona 2-0 Rayo Vallecano
  DraftKings Sports
Interaction
Barcelona win -575 1.17
Draw +600 6.83
Rayo Vallecano win +1100 13.00
Both teams
to score Y / N		 +115 / -150 2.02 / 1.63
Over / Under
3.5 goals		 +120 / -150 2.11 / 1.65
Barcelona -1.5 -170 1.56
Rayo Vallecano +1.5 +140 2.34

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.