Barcelona will be looking to bounce back from their first league defeat of the season when they visit the Mendizorroza Stadium to face Alaves on Sunday
⭐Best betting tips for Alaves vs Barcelona
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Alaves vs Barcelona odds
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Alaves vs Barcelona predictions
Alaves sit 11th in La Liga with 10 points from eight games.
Their record reads three wins, one draw and four defeats. Alaves has scored 11 goals and conceded 12.
They are a modest mid table team, with a modest mid table record – a team that Barcelona should be expecting to beat comfortably.
Managed by Luis Garcia, Los Blanquiazules are not in the greatest of form, losing their two most recent matches. Saturday’s 2-0 defeat away to Getafe followed on from a midweek 3-2 loss away to Real Madrid.
The back-to-back defeats were all the more disappointing, as they came after an impressive 2-1 home win over Sevilla.
But not for the first time this season, Alaves couldn’t back up a good performance in their next outing.
The defeat to Madrid was a strange match. At 3-0 down with five minutes remaining, the match looked all over. But then two quickfire goals from Carlos Benavidez Protesoni and Kike Garcia made it 3-2, and suddenly the game was back in the balance.
Madrid held on for the win. And although Alaves left the Spanish capital with no points, they did leave with plenty of positives. Sadly for Luis Garcia and his team, they failed to build on this when they lost to Getafe days later.
However, one positive they take into this weekend is they are undefeated at their Mendizorroza Stadium. Alaves has only played three times there so far this season, winning two and drawing one.
Will Barcelona be the team to end that unbeaten run?
Well, if they are serious about winning the La Liga title this season, Barca surely can’t afford to not win this Sunday.
Faced with a similar scenario away to Osasuna last weekend, the Catalans came up short, losing 4-2 to a rampant home team.
The defeat to Osasuna ended Barca’s unbeaten league run that saw them win their opening seven matches under new manager Hansi Flick.
The league leaders did bounce back with a comprehensive 5-0 win over Young Boys in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Injuries are still a major factor for Barcelona. They are without a string of regular starters including Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Gavi, Fermin Lopez and Dani Olmo.
Despite this, they still sit top of the La Liga table with 21 points from eight matches. They are three ahead of their main rivals Real Madrid.
Keeping an already stretched squad fresh will be a challenge for Flick. Alaves has had a week off. While Barca played on Tuesday in the Champions League.
There is an international break scheduled after this weekend’s round of La Liga fixtures. So Flick will know he can throw all his resources at this match, hoping some of his injured players might be available to play once the season resumes again in mid-October.
Alaves vs Barcelona betting tips
Alaves finished 11th in La Liga last season, and that’s probably the sort of position they will finish in again this term. They are the sort of mid-table team Barcelona should have too much fire-power for. Even an injury hit Barca.
The Catalans are 8/15 to win with Betfred. If you don’t want to risk backing them to win their eighth league match of the season at odds-on, we have named some alternative betting tips for you to follow below:
Barcelona to win and both teams to score
Alaves have only failed to find the net twice in La Liga this season. Kiki Garcia, Carlos Vicente and Toni Martinez are the joint-top scorers in La Liga with two goals each. They are not prolific goalscorers. But consistent ones.
We all know that Barcelona are heavy goalscorers. Even in defeat, the league leaders scored two last weekend against Osasuna. The stats also show that Barca had 75% possession and 12 attempts at goal in their loss. So it’s very clear they are dominating games and creating chances.
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With 25 league goals already this season, we expect to see Barcelona score more than once on Sunday.
Alaves have players able to score as well and they will get chances against Hansi Flick’s team. A home goal with a win for Barca looks a good value wager at 7/4.
⚽ Barcelona to win and both teams to score at 7/4 with Betfred ⚽
Robert Lewandowski to score any time
Robert Lewandowski scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season in Barca’s 5-0 win over Young Boys on Tuesday night.
Along with his seven goals in La Liga, the Polish striker has nine goals in ten appearances in all competitions for his club this season.
Last Sunday against Osasuna he drew an uncharacteristic blank. But with his injury-hit team relying on him to help them through their mini-crisis, Lewandowski needs to step up to the plate more often than before.
We expect to see a more ruthless Lewandowski against Alaves than we got against Osasuna. At odds-against, he is well worth a bet.
⚽ Choose Robert Lewandowski to score any time at 21/20 with Betfred ⚽
Alaves to get more booking points
Alaves have collected 20 yellows and one straight red in eight matches this season. Barcelona have accumulated 17 yellows and two straight reds in ten matches.
Neither side is great disciplinarily wise. But having played two games fewer than Barca, Alaves has a worse record. The Alaves goalkeeper Antonio Sivera has three yellows alone in his eight matches.
Barcelona are going to dominate the ball on Sunday. This should lead to an accumulation of fouls and inevitable yellow cards.
With 10 points awarded for a yellow, and 25 for a red card, Alaves are 9/10 to pick up more booking points than Barcelona. We think at just under even money that is a bet worth making.
⚽ Back Alaves to get more booking points than Barca at 9/10 with Betfred ⚽
📺 How to watch Alaves vs Barcelona
- Location: Mendizorroza Stadium, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
- Date and time: Sunday 6th October, 5.15pm BST.
- How to watch: La Liga TV.
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About the author
Dean Etheridge
Dean Etheridge is an experienced freelance sports betting writer who specialises in football. He predominantly covers the Premier League and Champions League but can turn his hand to all aspects of the beautiful game. You can follow Dean on LinkedIn (@deanetheridge)
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