La Liga – Alaves vs FC Barcelona: Betting Preview

Barcelona aim to bounce back from their recent slump in form during Sunday’s LaLiga trip to Deportivo Alaves.

Xavi Hernandez’s side enter the contest on a three-match winless run. They lost their last two games to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup and Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey. But given their sound record against Alaves, they hope to turn things around and improve on their seventh place in the LaLiga table.

As for Alaves, the hosts are second-bottom in LaLiga. A terrible run of form has seen them lose five of their last eight matches (D3) and fail to register a win since November 30.

Our tip

Facts and figures for Deportivo Alaves vs Barcelona in La Liga.

Current form — Deportivo Alaves v. Barcelona

The hosts are in in serious trouble

Results haven’t gone to plan for Deportivo Alaves recently. In their last 3 matches, they first had consecutive draws against Real Sociedad and Athletic Club. However, they were back on the losing side last time out in a 4-0 defeat to Real Betis.

Deportivo Alaves in serious trouble

Barcelona are on the lookout for a win after failing to do so recently. Against Granada, they settled for a 1-1 draw. Consecutive 3-2 defeats to Real Madrid and Athletic Club followed after extra-time in the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey respectively.

How do the bookies view it?

On the back of the aforementioned results, paired with rather erratic performances by Deportivo Alaves, siding with Barcelona at odds 1.72 seem the obvious way to go. This looks like a good opportunity to add three points to their tally. Should this price be a tad low for your betting strategy, consider adding it to an accumulator.

Deportivo Alaves vs Barcelona – Fixture History

The last time these teams faced each other, the game finished with a 1-1 scoreline. Deportivo Alaves enter the match against Barcelona with a 0-2-8 record in their previous 10 encounters in La Liga. This amounts to a 0% winning ratio for the hosts, with the away side victorious in 80% of the last 10 encounters. These matches were also remembered for a large number of goals.

Current table in the La Liga

Looking at the La Liga standings right now, the difference between these opponents is 15 points. Deportivo Alaves cannot squeeze past Barcelona in the standings anytime soon, but will be eager to reduce or at least maintain the current gap. Barcelona, 7th on 32 points, will do their part to widen the distance to their upcoming opponents on Sunday.

Top marksman

Ahead of their latest LaLiga match, both Deportivo Alaves and Barcelona will be looking for their main strikers. Accordingly, we have listed some of the in-form players who are expected to be getting it on for each team this season.