Real Madrid welcome Rayo Vallecano to the Bernabéu on 12 September 2026 for La Liga Matchday 5, sitting third with nine points from four matches and needing a convincing home performance to reassert pressure on the teams above them. Rayo arrive 14th with four points and while they will look to exploit a Madrid defence already short of bodies, their own squad has been hit almost as hard.
Mourinho has a strong prior record against Rayo from his earlier spells in Spanish football, whereas Beñat San José, appointed on 18 June 2026 after replacing Iñigo Pérez, has no direct history with Mourinho and must figure out how to adapt his compact 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 to deal with Mbappé's movement in behind and Vinícius Júnior on the left, with no previous meetings to draw on.
Madrid's last five outings produced a W-W-W-W-L sequence: a 2-1 Champions League win over Inter Milan on 8 September, a 2-1 win at Espanyol on 22 August, a 4-0 victory against Málaga on 30 August, a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad on 26 August and then the 0-1 loss to Betis on 4 September. The defensive lapses Betis exposed are exactly what Rayo will look to target. Rayo have gone W-L-D-L in the league: beating Racing Santander 3-2 on 5 September before being thrashed 5-2 at Barcelona on 31 August, drawing 1-1 with Alavés on 20 August and losing 2-1 to Sevilla on 15 August. Conceding five in a single afternoon at Barcelona tells you more about where this defence is than any table position does.
Madrid are without Ferland Mendy (calf, hip and thigh), Rodrygo (knee and ACL) and Éder Militão (hamstring), with Raúl Asencio and Eduardo Camavinga both doubts and losing three back line regulars at once will force adjustments Mourinho would rather not be making at this stage of the season. The saving grace is that Mbappé, Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior and Arda Güler, the latter returning from suspension, are all available.
Rayo's injury list is arguably even worse, with Augusto Batalla, Luiz Felipe, Isi Palazón, Marash Kumbulla and Jozhua Vertrouwd all out and Jorge de Frutos suspended, leaving Sergio Camello, who has already scored five goals in four games, as just about the only attacking option San José can rely on. It is a thin squad going into a very hard game and there is little room for San José to manoeuvre.
Mourinho will likely line up in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, though the back line loses its left sided balance and some aerial authority without Mendy and Militão, putting more pressure on Valverde to screen and Bellingham to generate from deeper. Mbappé's movement against Rayo's high line is the central battle to watch, while Vinícius Júnior should find space to run at Rayo's makeshift right side repeatedly given the absences of Palazón and de Frutos. Güler's return gives Mourinho a third creative option in midfield, which matters more here given Rayo's depleted cover.
For San José, it is about keeping Camello involved and hoping to isolate him in space on the break but without de Frutos supplying him and with the defence so porous, the margins are very slim. Unai López will need to carry a lot of creative responsibility in Palazón's absence, which is a tough ask against this Madrid midfield.
Madrid have dominated this fixture historically, winning around 34 of roughly 48 meetings to Rayo's 7, with 7 draws. The most recent meeting ended 2-1 to Madrid in February 2026, which is about what you would expect, though Rayo have occasionally nicked results at the Bernabéu.
Güler and Valverde are both capable of delivering dangerous balls in from set pieces, with Mbappé and Bellingham waiting at the back post and a Rayo defence missing multiple centre backs is going to struggle badly in those moments. Rayo come in fatigued from a schedule that has already beaten them up, which only makes those aerial duels harder to win.
Predicted score: 2-0, with Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior the most likely scorers. Camello is dangerous enough in behind to test Madrid's reshuffled back line but not consistently enough to change the outcome without the supply line he is missing.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
