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Feb 13, 2021 at 8pm UK
BarcelonaBarcelona
5-1
AlavesAlaves
Trincao (29', 74'), Messi (45+1', 75'), Firpo (80')
FT(HT: 2-0)
Rioja (57')
Aguirregabiria (17'), Tachi (53')
/esi/1339/6_G_1_123843/index.html?art_id=434742&game_id=123843&sport_id=1&ESI

Preview: Barcelona vs. Alaves - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Barcelona vs. Alaves - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Saturday's La Liga clash between Barcelona and Alaves, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Barcelona will be looking to bounce back from Wednesday's Copa del Rey semi-final first-leg defeat to Sevilla when they continue their La Liga campaign at home to Alaves on Saturday night.

The Catalan outfit have work to do if they are to turn their Copa del Rey last-four tie around, but Ronald Koeman's side have recently been in impressive form in the league, winning each of their last six matches.


Match preview

Goals from Jules Kounde and Ivan Rakitic saw Sevilla record a 2-0 win over Barca in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday night, leaving Koeman's side with a tough task ahead of the second leg at Camp Nou, which is not until the start of March.

The Catalan giants have a lot of football to play before the second leg, including the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain next week, while they will also face Alaves, Cadiz, Elche and Sevilla in the league before the end of February.

Barca are actually unbeaten in the league since the start of December, winning each of their last six, including a 3-2 success away to Real Betis last weekend, which moved them onto 43 points from 21 matches.

Koeman's side are currently third in the table but are only three points behind second-placed Real Madrid and have a game in hand over the reigning champions. That said, Atletico Madrid are eight points clear of Barca at the top of the division and also have a game in hand, which shows their strength at the summit.

The Catalan giants have won seven of their last eight league games with Alaves, but the points were shared in a 1-1 draw when they locked horns in the reverse match at the end of October.

Alaves, meanwhile, will enter this weekend's contest off the back of a huge 1-0 win over Real Valladolid last weekend, with Joselu scoring the only goal of the game in the second period.

The victory was the Basque side's first in La Liga since the end of December, but they are still very much in the relegation mix, sitting 16th in the table, just two points above the bottom three.

Alaves are actually in their fifth straight campaign at this level of football and finished ninth in 2016-17 as they made a strong impression in their first La Liga season since 2006.

El Glorioso ended the 2019-20 campaign in 16th position, though, and it does appear that they will face a serious battle to retain their top-flight status for at least another season.

Abelardo's side will be the huge underdogs to triumph this weekend, but the manner of their performance against Barca in the reverse match earlier this season will hand them confidence.

Barcelona La Liga form: WWWWWW
Barcelona form (all competitions): WWWWWL

Alaves La Liga form: LLLLDW
Alaves form (all competitions): LLLLDW


Team News

Barca will again be without the services of Ansu Fati, Gerard Pique, Philippe Coutinho, Sergi Roberto, Ronald Araujo and Martin Braithwaite for this game, while Miralem Pjanic and Sergino Dest are both doubts.

Clement Lenglet should replace Samuel Umtiti at the back following the clash with Sevilla, but Koeman is expected to resist the temptation to make wholesale changes.

Barca face PSG next week in the Champions League, but Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele should all start on Saturday, with Trincao likely to be involved from the bench in the second half.

As for Alaves, Rodrigo Ely is still unavailable for selection, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape heading into the contest, with Victor Laguardia fit to start in the middle of the defence.

Head coach Abelardo is expected to keep faith with the majority of the side that started the win over Valladolid, meaning that Joselu should again be joined by Lucas Perez in the final third of the field.

On-loan Manchester United attacker Facundo Pellistri was an unused substitute last time out, and the Uruguayan youngster will be hoping to make his debut in this game.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Dest, Mingueza, Lenglet, Alba; De Jong, Busquets, Pedri; Griezmann, Messi, Dembele

Alaves possible starting lineup:
Pacheco; Navarro, Laguardia, Lejeune, Duarte; Mendez, Garcia, Pina, Rioja; Perez, Joselu


We say: Barcelona 2-0 Alaves

Barca will be determined to bounce back from the loss to Sevilla, and we are finding it difficult to back anything other than a home win. Alaves secured an impressive result against Valladolid last weekend, but we are expecting Koeman's side to pick up all three points to continue their strong run in La Liga.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:data


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La Liga Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Atletico MadridAtletico21173144133154
2Real Madrid23154441192249
3Barcelona22144449212846
4Sevilla22143532161645
5Real Sociedad23108537201738
6Villarreal2381233224836
7Real Betis23103103138-733
8Granada238692738-1130
9Celta Vigo237882934-529
10Levante226973132-127
11Athletic Bilbao2174102826225
12Osasuna2367102231-925
13Getafe2366111729-1224
14Valencia235992832-424
15CadizCadiz2266102035-1524
16AlavesAlaves2357112034-1422
17EibarEibar2349101926-721
18Real Valladolid2349102234-1221
19ElcheElche213991931-1218
20Huesca23210111833-1516
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Swiss Super League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Young Boys16105124111335
2Basel178362624227
3FC Zurich177462620625
4LuganoLugano165921715224
5St GallenSt Gallen166551615123
6Lausanne SportLausanne165561919020
7Servette155551415-120
8Sion173771825-716
9Luzern143472023-313
10VaduzVaduz162591225-1311
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