Barcelona’s mixed week continues on Sunday when they host Alaves in La Liga.
Xavi’s side did well to win at Real Sociedad despite a poor performance but then followed it up with a defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, making their qualification for the knockout stages a little more complicated.
Barcelona always aim to finish ahead of Real Madrid in La Liga but right now they trail Girona, who have a four-point lead over the Catalan giants. Madrid are two points up the road so there is a chance to go ahead of them with the right results.
Alaves are down in 14th with only three wins so far this season as their fans strap in for what looks like a long and arduous campaign.
Here’s all you need to know about Barcelona vs Alaves in La Liga this weekend.
Barcelona vs Alaves H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
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United Kingdom |
Viaplay Sports 2, LaLigaTV, Viaplay UK |
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United States |
ESPN+, ESPN Deportes |
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Canada |
TSN5, TSN+ |
Barca have had to deal with some very important absentees in recent weeks and months but the situation has improved of late. Pedri made his return from the bench against Shakhtar in midweek, while the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha are back.
The game is likely to come too soon for Frenkie de Jong, while Sergi Roberto is also ruled out with a calf problem picked up last month. Gavi is suspended for this match, so the midfield may look a little different to normal.
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Alaves (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Cancelo, Araujo, Kounde, Balde; Gundogan, Romeu, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Felix.
The major absentee from an Alaves perspective is Giuliano Simeone, a forward on loan from Atletico Madrid who has suffered a serious ankle problem. He is joined on the treatment table by Carlos Benavidez who has a muscle injury and will miss most of November.
Nikola Maras could make his return to the bench now that he has mostly recovered from a blow to the head.
Alaves predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Sivera; Gorosabel, Abqar, Sedlar, Lopez; Blanco, Guevara; Guridi, Hagi, Rioja; Garcia.
Alaves may be perched towards the bottom of the La Liga table but they have won their last two games and will be more confident of grabbing a result than most would expect.
That being said, Barcelona have some dangerous players back from injury and in front of their own fans, it is hard to picture this going in any other direction than a home win, especially after two bleak outings against Sociedad and Shakhtar.
Prediction: Barcelona 3-1 Alaves
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