La Liga Preview: Alavés’ Home Performance Far Exceeds Away Form, Betis Unbeaten in Recent Matches

On August 26 at 1:15 AM, the second round of La Liga will see Alavés host Real Betis at Mendizorroza Stadium.

The two teams finished last season in 10th and 7th place respectively, with a nine-point gap between them. During the summer transfer window, both teams experienced personnel changes. Alavés recouped €13.7 million from the sales of players such as Javi López and Duarte, and spent €5.5 million on new signings from Argentina’s Primera División and Spain’s Segunda División. Real Betis sold key players like Sadick Adane and Abnel, earning €35.7 million, then spent €23 million on new signings from teams like Leeds United, Southampton, Torino, and Napoli.

In terms of form, Alavés lost their first league match 1-2 away to Celta Vigo, once again demonstrating the stark contrast between their home and away performances. Last season, Alavés had a home win rate of 47.4% in the league, scoring an average of 1.21 goals per game and conceding only 1.0 goal. In away games, their win rate dropped to 15.8%, scoring an average of 0.68 goals and conceding 1.42 goals per game, making them one of the teams with the most contrasting home and away records in La Liga. Excluding friendlies, Alavés have won 3 and drawn 1 in their last four home league matches, highlighting the importance of home advantage. This match will be their first home game of the season.

Real Betis have been in good form recently, winning their last three pre-season matches 4-1 against Al Ittihad, and drawing with Cádiz and Bayer Leverkusen. In the first round of La Liga, they drew 1-1 with last season’s dark horse, Girona, and then comfortably beat Ukrainian side Kryvbas 2-0 in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifier. They have remained unbeaten in their last five matches with two wins and three draws. Due to their European commitments, Betis will likely be less rested than their opponents who have had a full week to prepare, but they hope to make up for this with their current form and morale.

In head-to-head encounters, Alavés have won 2, drawn 4, and lost 4 out of the last 10 matches against Betis, putting them at a slight disadvantage. However, in the three meetings last season, the two league matches ended in draws, while Alavés won 1-0 in the cup, leaving Betis without a win in those three matches.

In terms of squad availability, Alavés have a relatively complete lineup. Betis’ forward Cedric Bakambu (who made 21 appearances last season, scoring 3 goals and providing 1 assist) and Isco (former Real Madrid star, who played 36 times last season, scoring 9 goals and providing 7 assists) have not trained systematically this week due to physical reasons, and their participation is uncertain.

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