Rayo Vallecano Visit For Penultimate Friendly
Friday, 7th Aug 2026 16:17

Town conclude their UK-based pre-season friendlies with a home game against La Liga Rayo Vallecano at Portman Road on Saturday afternoon (KO 3pm).

The Blues go into the match having beaten Ligue 1 Le Havre 1-0 at Portman Road on Tuesday, although in truth the margin of victory ought to have been more comfortable, as was the case in the second of last Saturday’s two friendlies, the 2-1 win at Wycombe Wanderers.

Rayo Vallecano finished eighth in La Liga last season and were beaten 1-0 by Crystal Palace in the final of the Europa Conference League.

They’ve have had a difficult summer having been barred from their home stadium, the Estadio de Vallecas, after an audit revealed serious health and safety issues. Their season proper starts in a week’s time, albeit with an away game at Sevilla.

So far in pre-season they have lost 2-1 away to both Hearts and Feyenoord, before a 3-2 victory in Belgium against Charleroi last Saturday. You can read about their squad in a TWTD Blog here.

Blues boss Gary O’Neil knows Los Franjirrojos well, his previous club having faced them in Europe last season.

“We’re looking forward to Vallecano, who we played last year with Strasbourg in a semi-final, the Conference League,” he said after the Le Havre match. “A good side, got to the final where they lost to Crystal Palace.

“They’ll come here and they’ll give us a real good test, which we need now at this moment, we’re ready for one of those.”

Turning to his team, he added: “Everyone got nearly 90 minutes at the weekend, everyone got their 45-ish [against Le Havre], so we’re in a good spot now to go into Rayo Vallecano, which will be a test and will feel more like a real game.”

That would appear to suggest O’Neil will give many of those starting most or all of the match and that it will be there or thereabouts what might be viewed as a first XI at this stage.

Midfielder Florentino Luis signed from Burnley shortly before the Le Havre match and seems likely to play some part in the game.

New keeper Kjell Scherpen is yet to feature and may well make his first appearance since his move from Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.

Christian Walton and Jaden Philogene are also yet to play a part in a friendly due to injury - and in the latter’s case with speculation regarding his future bubbling away in the background - while Azor Matusiwa and Jack Taylor are continuing their recoveries after undergoing surgery at the end of last season.

Town are close to confirming the signing of Fulham midfielder Sasa Lukic, but the Serbian probably won’t be involved so soon after his switch.

Harry Clarke is close to joining Stoke City on a permanent basis so is unlikely to be involved, while Ali Al-Hamadi may well be back with the squad, the Iraq international’s loan move to Polish club Raków Częstochowa having fallen through.

The Blues have one more friendly, away against Bundesliga Union Berlin next Saturday, before their Premier League season gets under way when they host Sunderland the following weekend.

Photo: Matchday Images

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Stato added 16:30 - Aug 7 Good visiting opposition before 6 pointer against Sunderland
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Stato added 16:36 - Aug 7

For context Rayo V have a combined squad value of circa £90m, Ipswich circa £250k but more turning by by the day lol. and Sunderland circa £450m. Again for conext we are equal with Coventry and above Hull in relegation odds. Sunderland currently rated most likely of the rest to finish 4th bottom. NOT my opinion just highlighting Sunderland and important home chance to get ahead of our predcted points curve

Barty added 17:06 - Aug 7 Stato - I think you mean £250m.
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StowTractor added 17:10 - Aug 7 Stato, surely the Town squad is worth £250m not 250k?
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BeattiesBackPocket added 18:07 - Aug 7

Stato end of the day I don’t think any of that crap people find online makes a massive difference when they technically have a much better pool of players to pick from as youngsters hence winning the World Cup and euros again, they finished 8th in the top league only 3 places behind Real Betis who absolutely bent Arsenal over Wednesday and hammered them at the Emirates. Pretty sure Arsenal have spent over a billion quid since artetas been there as well ours is recent money due to 22 years of selling off our assets. It will be a very tough game and I dare say until next week we still may not got an idea on his first 11 even though most of us can kind of predict it. I’ll be shocked if it’s his first 11 that starts tomorrow and against Sunderland but he needs to do what’s right and get everyone fitter than we were last time up there.

armchaircritic59 added 18:22 - Aug 7

BeattiesBackPocket, A piece of crap from online for you. From Opta Stats as of today. From the total selection they have of 13,500 professional football clubs . ITFC rated 36th in the world. Rayo Vallecano rated 66th in the world. A difference of 2.5 Opta points, which for comparison is the difference between us and Borussia Dortmund further up the table.

As a matter of interest, where does anyone think clubs get their player stats from that they so much rely on these days? Along with an eye test of course. Their own " dashboards " which draw information from where?

BeattiesBackPocket added 18:55 - Aug 7

Armchair Stato is on about players supposed pricing not other stats like running, yards covered, technique etc etc etc so in your infinite wisdom because you’ve spent more and RECENT money because we have to to compete and not spread out past 22 years due to underfunding that automatically means that team has the right to win? Because anyone who knows football knows that’s not the case. Arsenal spent over a billion in however many years under Arteta and only won a major trophy last year if it was just about finance as Stato mentioned or getting details from Tranfermarkt where the fees are wildely different it would be easy. Arsenal found out Wednesday having all that money didn’t matter but again it was a friendly and my point was money doesn’t come into it necessarily. The stats your on about regarding running distance covered are not what Stato was on about

armchaircritic59 added 00:42 - Aug 8 BeattiesBackPocket, there we are in full agreement, and I would never expect a club to buy anyone on stats alone either. They form the spine and the skeleton, what the eye sees puts the flesh on the bones. If they both tell the same tale, you've often got a winner, if not might be wise to have a serious think.
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number8 added 06:20 - Aug 8 All the above is great but doesn’t matter it’s 11 humans v 11 humans and anything can happen. If the value of your squad equates to results, Liverpool would have beaten a lot more teams last year and been a lot higher after their huge investment in players.
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Stato added 14:08 - Aug 8 My post makes no mention of transfermarket as wasn't looking to debate player values by one source from another snd my post clearly says they are good opposition. Its probably my own stupid fault for callung myself stato as every argumentitive plonker once to criticise whatever stat you quote
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armchaircritic59 added 14:39 - Aug 8

Stato, those of us who likes stats of all kinds, just have to accept that there are those who don't. It's a fact that football clubs base their recruitment around it along with actually seeing them play in real life, so to speak. And I think we know that stats are shall we say, sometimes open to interpretation, especially if someone's trying to use them to suit a particular agenda. I will continue using them and I'm sure you will too, for good or as some may think, bad!