La Liga Preview: Struggling Alavés Meets Their Bane, Barcelona Aims to Bounce Back with Top Scoring Record in La Liga

On October 6th at 22:15, the 9th round of the 2024/25 La Liga season will see Barcelona face Alavés away from home. After 8 rounds of La Liga, Barcelona has accumulated 21 points, equal with Real Madrid but ranks first with a game in hand due to goal difference advantage, while Alavés is in 11th place with 10 points.

Since returning to La Liga last season, Alavés has performed steadily, finishing 10th as a promoted team. So far this season, this Basque team has maintained a good momentum, with 3 wins, 1 draw, and 4 losses, which can be considered stable, and their goals are evenly distributed across matches.

Alavés’ recent form has slightly declined, losing three out of their last four games, lowering their previously maintained unbeaten rate. After consecutive away defeats to Real Madrid and Getafe, Alavés returns home to face the formidable Barcelona, a stern test for Luis García’s team.

The “Blue and Whites” have lost all three of their recent league matches against Barcelona, and since September 201, they haven’t defeated the Catalan giants in La Liga. Notably, Alavés’ last victory over Barcelona at Mendizorroza Stadium was back in December 2001, almost 23 years ago.

Barcelona needs to recover from the painful 4-2 defeat by Osasuna in the league last weekend. In the midweek Champions League match, Barcelona responded swiftly with a 5-0 home win against Young Boys Bern. Considering the serious injury problems faced by the team, Barcelona’s start to the season has been satisfactory, and new coach Flick has solidified his position.

To lead La Liga, Barcelona’s powerful offensive firepower deserves praise. With 25 goals in 8 matches, they lead the pack clearly ahead of teams like Real Madrid and Villarreal, making their top spot well-deserved. The team’s main striker, Lewandowski, is in hot form, scoring 9 goals in 10 appearances, showing no fear of transfer rumors linking him to Manchester City’s Haaland.

Barcelona naturally won’t fear Alavés, having won 24 of the 36 league matches against them. However, given that both losses this season in the league and Champions League occurred away from home, Flick needs to remind his players of the challenge.

In terms of personnel, Alavés’ squad is relatively complete, with only young utility player Noah Ramos, who joined from RB Leipzig in the summer window, having a slight physical issue, but he is expected to play, allowing Luis García to continue with the starting lineup from the previous match against Getafe.

For Barcelona, the long list of injured includes Ter Stegen, Fermín López, Dani Olmo, Bernal, Christensen, Ronald Araújo, and Gavi. The good news is that Iñigo Martínez has recovered, and Eric García will return to the squad. Peña is expected to continue as the starting goalkeeper, and newly signed Szczęsny could make the squad, with the Polish goalkeeper now training with the first team. Midfielder De Jong returned as a substitute in the match against Young Boys Bern and may again appear from the bench this weekend.

For Barcelona, this match may be full of challenges, and the league leaders need to maintain patience to get back on track in the league.

>>”>More predictions and plans for this match can be found here>>>