Two teams battling to remain in Spain's top flight will lock horns on Saturday afternoon, as Alaves welcome Granada to Estadio de Mendizorroza for a vital contest.

Alaves are currently 19th in the La Liga table, three points behind 17th-placed Granada, and both teams will enter this weekend's relegation six-pointer in disappointing form.

Match preview

Alaves have been present in Spain's top flight since 2016, but the Basque outfit are facing a serious battle to retain their status at this level of football, having struggled for long stages of the 2021-22 campaign.

Indeed, El Glorioso have won five, drawn seven and lost 16 of their 28 league matches this season to collect 22 points, which has left them in 19th position in the table, three points behind 17th-placed Granada.

Alaves have picked up just two points from their last four matches, meanwhile, drawing with Getafe and Sevilla, in addition to losing to Real Madrid and Real Sociedad without finding the back of the net.

Jose Luis Mendilibar's side still have more than enough time to escape the relegation zone, but they have found it difficult in front of their own fans this season, picking up just 16 points from 14 matches, which is the fourth-worst home record in the division.

Alaves have also lost five of their last six La Liga matches against Granada but did record a 4-2 victory in the corresponding game during the 2020-21 campaign.

Granada, meanwhile, will enter the match off the back of a 1-0 home loss to Elche on March 12, with the defeat leaving them in 17th position in the table on 25 points.

Ruben Torrecilla is currently in charge of the team on a caretaker basis, and the 42-year-old was unable to prevent his side from suffering the reverse to Elche last time out.

Granada have actually been beaten in seven of their last eight league matches, while they have not been victorious in Spain's top flight since December 22, which is a serious concern at this stage of the season.

The Andalusian outfit have finished seventh and ninth in their last two La Liga campaigns but are now facing the possibility of dropping back down to the Segunda for the first time since 2018-19.

Granada's away form this season has not been disastrous, but they have only won one of their 14 league games on their travels, which came at fellow strugglers Levante at the start of November.

Team News

Alaves have no injury or suspension concerns heading into this match, meaning that Mendilibar is likely to have a full complement of players for the La Liga affair.

As a result, it would not be a surprise to see the same XI that took to the field for the 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad last time out, as there were plenty of positives in that particular contest.

Joselu should again lead the line with support from Luis Rioja and Edgar Mendez in the wide areas, although Jason and Manu Vallejo are among those pushing for spots in the side.

As for Granada, Maxime Gonalons, Santiago Arias and Neyder Lozano all missed the defeat to Elche last time out, and the trio are likely to again be unavailable for this contest.

Caretaker head coach Torrecilla is likely to shuffle his pack for the contest, with Ruben Rochina, Darwin Machis and Jorge Molina all in line for starting roles on Saturday.

Antonio Puertas is also pushing to be involved from the start, but Luis Milla should retain his spot in a midfield area, while Torrecilla could stick with a five-man defence for the match.

Alaves possible starting lineup:
Pacheco; Tenaglia, Laguardia, Lejeune, Duarte; Moya, Pina; Mendez, Pons, Rioja; Joselu

Granada possible starting lineup:
Maximiano; Quini, Duarte, Sanchez, Torrente, Neva; Rochina, Petrovic, Milla; Machis, Molina

We say: Alaves 1-1 Granada

For obvious reasons, this is a really difficult match to predict, and it is even tougher to back either side to win with any degree of confidence. Both teams will believe that they can hurt the other in the final third, but we have had to settle on a low-scoring draw, which will not suit either manager at this stage of the season.

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