Birmingham round off their pre-season fixtures by welcoming Spanish side Rayo Vallecano to St Andrew’s on Saturday afternoon.

John Eustace’s men will be looking to regain a cutting edge that departed them in their Arthur Cup defeat to Solihull Moors on Tuesday. Blues peppered the hosts’ net in the second period of the clash, but a long-standing inability to convert chances reared its head once more.

A sold-out  ARMCO Arena saw Blues line up in a 3-4-3 formation, with Bacuna and Placheta on either side of Scott Hogan. However, Eustace’s experiment did not go to plan and the head coach reverted to a more familiar 3-5-2 at halftime, so expect that setup from the start of proceedings in B9 this weekend.

The Opposition

Rayo Vallecano enjoyed one of their most successful seasons ever in 21/22 finishing 12th in La Liga, a campaign in which they completed the double over Xavi’s Barcelona. The club also reached the semi-finals of Copa del Rey before falling at the hands of Real Betis.

The Red Sashes have flourished under the leadership of 40-year-old Andoni Iraola, who in his playing career amassed over 400 appearances with Spanish giants Athletic Bilbao as a right back.

The Madrid-based team has some familiar names in their squad, with none more so than ex-Chelsea and Manchester United forward Radamel Falcao. The 36-year-old Colombian joined Vallecano last September and contributed 6 league goals from just 8 starts.

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The Vallecans have endured a mixed start to pre-season, with a 3-0 loss to Bundesliga side Freiburg being followed by victory against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. With their league campaign commencing in the middle of August at Camp Nou, they will meet Manchester United and Leganes in friendly games before their league-opener versus Barcelona.

Team News

Blues came through a double header of fixtures against Solihull and Cheltenham unscathed in the week.

Lukas Jutkiewicz and George Friend returned to training for the first time on Friday morning after their respective injuries, but this game comes too soon for either to be available.

Nico Gordon and Gary Gardner are yet to return to training following their injuries and will not feature at St Andrew’s on Saturday.

Harlee Dean remains side-lined with a calf injury he picked up prior to the Bass Charity Vase win over Burton last weekend.

Prediction: Blues 0-2 Rayo Vallecano

Blues have left their sternest pre-season test to last in the form of Vallecano this weekend. It is likely the La Liga side will dominate possession as Blues look to remain defensively compact and break when possible. This will be a very good workout before the Championship curtain-raiser against Luton, although the scoreline may not be pretty by the end of it.