Alaves are set to take on Barcelona in La Liga on Sunday, 6 October as Spanish football prepares for the second international break of the season.
Ahead of the break, Barcelona will be keen to get back to winning ways after slipping to their first defeat of the season last weekend against Osasuna.
Standing in their way is an Alaves team that have been solid so far, accumulating ten points in eight matches so it's not going to be a walk in the park for Barca.
How the bookies view it: Barca go in as favourites
Barcelona are the favourites for this one with the bookies and it's hard to argue with them given that they have won seven of their first eight La Liga games of the season. Betfred have priced a win for Alaves at 9/2 while a win for Barcelona has been priced at 8/15. The draw, which would be a good result for the hosts, has been priced at 15/8.
Recent head-to-head: Barcelona dominance
Barcelona have a phenomenal recent record against Alaves which should fill them with confidence ahead of kick-off on Sunday afternoon. The Catalans are unbeaten in their last 14 matches against Alaves and 12 of those were victories.
Alaves' last win over Barcelona came back in 2016 at the Camp Nou while their last win on home soil came back in 2001.
Players to watch: Can Lewandowski get Barca back on track?
Robert Lewandowski had the best years of his career in 2020 under the guidance of Hansi Flick at Bayern Munich and four years later, he is enjoying a swansong at Barcelona under the same man. The Poland legend has scored nine goals in ten matches in La Liga and the Champions League and is well on track to eclipse his previous best for Barcelona.
Many people had written the 36-year-old off last season and when Xavi started to try and phase him out of the team, it was anticipated that he would be moved on in the summer. However, the arrival of Hansi Flick has given him as second chance in Spain and to say he is taking it with both hands is an understatement.
On Sunday, he comes up against a team that he has scored three goals in two matches so will be feeling very confident of reaching double digits for the season before the international break.
Predicted line-ups
Alaves have very nearly got a clean bill of health for this one with Hugo Novoa as their only doubt. The situation is very different for Barcelona who are missing seven first-team players including Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Dani Olmo and Ronald Araujo.
Alaves: Sivera – Tenaglia, Abqar, Sedlar, Diarra – Benavidez, Jordan – Vicente, Stoichkov, Martin – Martinez
Barcelona: Pena – Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde – Garcia, Casado, Pedri – Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
Anything else catch the eye?
Just two weeks ago, Alaves played out a five-goal thriller with Real Madrid proving that they can go toe to toe with the best teams in this division. Over 3.5 goals to be scored on Sunday afternoon has been priced at 6/4 by Betfred.
This La Liga match between Alaves and Barcelona will be played on Oct 6, 2024 and kick off at 15:15. Check below for our tipsters best Alaves vs Barcelona prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
