Barcelona are back in La Liga action on Saturday with a trip to Alaves knowing they cannot afford any mistakes between now and the end of the campaign if they are to stand any chance of defending their title.
Barca’s first match since Xavi Hernandez announced he’ll leave as manager at the end of the season saw them beat Osasuna 1-0, with Vitor Roque netting the only goal of the game as their opponents went down to ten players with more than half an hour to go.
They are ten points behind Real Madrid at the top, so games against sides like 11th-placed Alaves have to end with three points. They are favourites for this Saturday evening clash, but Barca are prone to making things difficult for themselves.
Here’s all you need to know about Alaves vs Barcelona in La Liga this weekend.
Alaves vs Barcelona H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (all competitions)
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
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United Kingdom |
Viaplay Sports 1, Viaplay UK, LaLigaTV |
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United States |
ESPN+, ESPN Deportes |
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Canada |
TSN+, TSN5 |
Aleksandar Sedlar won’t be involved for Alaves again due to his long-term knee injury and they are also without Andoni Gorosabel, who is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in the 3-0 win over Almeria.
Nahuel Tenaglia is expected to replace Gorosabel. That may well be the only change made to the team that won at Almeria given Alaves are in good form right now and will think they can get some joy here.
Alaves predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Sivera; Tenaglia, Marin, Duarte, Lopez; Blanco, Guevara; Vicente, Guridi, Rioja; Omorodion.
The injury situation is a lot more severe for Barca right now, with Ferran Torres the latest player to pick up a problem. Joao Felix, Sergi Roberto, Alejandro Balde, Raphinha, Marcos Alonso, Gavi and Marc-Andre ter Stegen will also miss this match.
The good news for Xavi is Inigo Martinez might be fit enough to make his return to the squad. Fermin Lopez is likely to start in place of Torres, but Roque’s goal against Osasuna won’t be enough to get a first Barca start.
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Alaves (4-3-3): Pena; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Cancelo; Gundogan, Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Lewandowski, Lopez.
Alaves are having a pretty good season, winning four of their last five matches, so this certainly won’t be a straightforward mission for Barca and Xavi, even as they try to claw onto their faint hopes of retaining the title.
That being said, there is so much attacking talent in their team that even if it is not a vintage performance, Barca should have enough firepower to get another narrow win.
Prediction: Alaves 1-2 Barcelona
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