Barcelona will be bidding to make it back-to-back victories in La Liga when they continue their campaign away to Alaves on Saturday evening.
Xavi's side, who are fourth in the table, will enter the contest off the back of a 1-0 win over Osasuna, while an in-form Alaves beat basement side Almeria 3-0 last time out.
Match preview
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Alaves have not beaten Barcelona since September 2016, but El Glorioso will enter this match in strong form, having won four of their last five matches in all competitions, including their last three in La Liga.
The Basque side have collected 10 points from their last four matches, drawing with Real Sociedad before recording wins over Sevilla, Cadiz and Almeria, and their strong run of form has moved them into 11th position in the table, now 10 points clear of the relegation zone.
Suddenly Alaves have their eyes on a top-10 finish, sitting just three points behind 10th-placed Getafe, and they have picked up 16 points from their 10 home league matches this season, recording five wins in the process.
Luis Garcia's side now have back-to-back home fixtures against Barcelona and Villarreal before finishing the month with games against Real Betis (A) and Mallorca (H).
Alaves secured a return to Spain's top flight through last season's Segunda Division playoffs, and they finished ninth at this level in 2016-17, which was also their first campaign back in the top flight after spells in the second and third tiers.
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Barcelona, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 victory over Osasuna, with Vitor Roque's first goal for the club securing a vital three points in Wednesday's affair.
The Catalan outfit suffered a 5-3 home loss to Villarreal last weekend, with Xavi announcing soon after that he would be standing down as head coach at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
Barcelona remain fourth in the table, boasting a record of 14 wins, five draws and three defeats from 22 matches, with 47 points leaving them eight points off division leaders Girona.
The reigning champions are certainly not out of the title race, and they have won four of their last five league matches despite the recent criticism, while the team are still chasing success in the Champions League.
Barcelona will take on Alaves, Granada and Celta Vigo in their next three La Liga matches before heading to Napoli for the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash on February 21.
The Catalan side have the third-best away record in La Liga this season, picking up 20 points from 10 matches, while they beat Alaves 2-1 when the two sides locked horns in the reverse match last November.
Team News
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Alaves will again be without the services of Aleksandar Sedlar due to a long-term knee problem, while Andoni Gorosabel is suspended due to the yellow card that he picked up against Almeria last time out.
Nahuel Tenaglia is expected to be Gorosabel's replacement in the starting side, but it might otherwise be the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle against the team at the bottom of the division.
Samu Omorodion scored twice against Almeria, and the on-loan Atletico Madrid teenager will continue in the final third of the field with support from Luis Rioja and Carlos Vicente.
Barcelona, meanwhile, lost a ninth player to injury against Osasuna, with Ferran Torres picking up a thigh problem which is expected to keep him on the sidelines for at least the next five weeks.
Joao Felix, Sergi Roberto, Alejandro Balde, Raphinha, Marcos Alonso, Gavi and Marc-Andre ter Stegen will also again be missing this weekend, but Inigo Martinez is back in the squad after recovering from a muscular problem.
Fermin Lopez could be Torres's replacement in the XI for this match, with Roque still not being considered for starts, while Andreas Christensen is in line for a recall in the middle of the defence.
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Sivera; Tenaglia, Marin, Duarte, Lopez; Blanco, Guevara; Vicente, Guridi, Rioja; Omorodion
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Pena; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Cancelo; Gundogan, Pedri, F de Jong; Yamal, Lewandowski, F Lopez
We say: Alaves 1-2 Barcelona
This is a really hard match to call, especially considering Alaves' strong form, and we would not be shocked to see a home win or a draw here. Barcelona need to keep picking up wins in order to stay in the title picture, though, and we are backing them to navigate their way to a vital three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
