Alvaro Arbeloa does not believe Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior have gained an unfair status as Real Madrid's 'untouchables', saying he always wants his best players on the field ahead of facing Rayo Vallecano.

It has been another tumultuous week for the Spanish giants, with Madrid failing to make the top eight of the Champions League standings in dramatic fashion on Wednesday.

Having had Raul Asencio and Rodrygo sent off, Madrid succumbed to a 4-2 defeat to Jose Mourinho's Benfica, with goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scoring the Lisbon side's fourth goal deep into second-half stoppage time. 

Trubin's header sent Mourinho's men into the play-offs on goal difference, and Friday's draw then paired them with Madrid once again.

Madrid are also second in LaLiga, albeit just one point behind Barcelona ahead of this weekend's games, and Arbeloa's reluctance to rotate his star players has been debated in the Spanish media.

At Saturday's pre-match press conference, the former full-back said: "I understand the debates, but I want to have the best players on the field. 

"The more minutes they are available to the team, the better. We saw it at Villarreal, where Mbappe's goal came from a very good action by Vinicius. They are players capable of deciding a game at any time. 

"There are people – who are not Madrid fans – who will not want them to be on the pitch, but the players you have mentioned are among the top 10 in the world. 

"It's not my confidence in them; it's their performance levels that keep them on the pitch."

Vinicius has endured arguably his most difficult campaign at Madrid, being limited to seven goals and nine assists so far this term, after registering at least 33 goal involvements in each of the previous four seasons.

But when it comes to attacking sequence involvements, Mbappe (258) and Vinicius (203) have been Madrid's two most influential players since the end of the Club World Cup.

Asked if his team had gone back to square one after their loss to Benfica, Arbeloa added: "No. We are aware of the difficulty of the match against Rayo Vallecano. 

"We are focused on finding a high level again, on continuing to work and improve. Everyone's level will have to be very high to win all the games. That is our goal."

Rayo are 16th in the table, only one point above the relegation zone, and their head coach Inigo Perez expects Madrid to issue a strong response after their midweek loss.

"Against such powerful teams, losing before kick-off is a danger," he said. "Madrid's players have a very high mental capacity, and tomorrow, it won't affect them".

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Real Madrid – Kylian Mbappe 

Mbappe has scored the opening goal on 21 occasions in LaLiga since the start of last season, the most by any player in Europe's five big European leagues in that time.

Rayo Vallecano – Jorge de Frutos

De Frutos has scored six goals in LaLiga this season, in 19 appearances, equalling his highest tally in a single top-flight campaign (six goals in 36 games last season).

MATCH PREDICTION – REAL MADRID WIN

Though Arbeloa's reign has already brought humiliating defeats in the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, Madrid have won their first two LaLiga games under him.

Both of those victories – against Levante and Villarreal – came to nil. Arbeloa could now become only the second Madrid manager to not concede in his first three games in the competition this century, after Rafa Benitez.

Madrid are also unbeaten in their last 15 home matches against Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga (W13 D2), their longest run without defeat at home against them in the competition.

And Los Blancos have defeated Rayo more often than they have any other team in LaLiga history, both overall (32 wins in 45 meetings) and at home (18 wins in 22).

Rayo have picked up points in six of their last 10 LaLiga meetings with Madrid (W2 D4 L4), however, after losing each of their previous 17 matches against them in the competition.

But if Madrid get their noses in front, it will be exceedingly difficult for their visitors. Los Blancos are the only team in LaLiga to not drop a single point after scoring the opening goal in the competition this season (15/15). 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Real Madrid – 71.4%

Rayo Vallecano – 12.1%

Draw – 16.5%