Barcelona Aims to Restore Balance at the Expense of Alavés

Barcelona aim to maintain their lead at the top of La Liga when they face Deportivo Alavés on Saturday in the eleventh round.

Real Madrid had previously ended Barcelona’s consecutive league winning streak by defeating the Catalan side 2-1 in the Clásico at the Camp Nou, narrowing the gap between the two teams at the summit to three points.

Before their loss to Real Madrid, Barcelona had won nine consecutive league matches. However, they also suffered a 4-2 defeat to French club Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League, placing the team under pressure to regain balance amid a congested fixture schedule and declining fitness levels among some players. The task has become more difficult for manager Hansi Flick due to absences, as Barcelona are without Ronny Bardhi, Jules Koundé, Dani Olmo, and Chabi Serrano through injury. Meanwhile, the return of Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong to training provides a significant boost, while Alejandro Balde could play a larger role to compensate for the shortage in the defensive line.

Despite these circumstances, Barcelona boast a strong home record, having scored 16 goals in their last four home matches, averaging four goals per game.

However, Alavés will not enter the contest without ambition, despite their inconsistent results recently. The team sits in seventh place and has won only one of their last five league matches, scoring just two goals in their last three games, reflecting the difficulties their attack has faced ahead of a tough test against one of the title contenders.

This round’s fixtures open tomorrow on Friday when Villarreal face Espanyol.