FC Barcelona responded pretty well in midweek, to their first La Liga loss of the season. After falling 4-2 to Osasuna last weekend, the Blaugranes recovered fully enough to take it out on Swiss side Young Boys, and utterly destroy them, by the score of 5-0. Now comes a return to domestic competition, and with it a clash at Alaves, which could end up being trickier than you might have first thought.
Barca already had their “get right game” on the continent, on Tuesday night. But they’ll need to maintain the fine edge of competitiveness here.
FC Barcelona at Alaves
Kickoff: Kickoff: Sun. Oct. 6, 4:15 CET, Mendizorrotza, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
FC Barcelona Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
La Liga Standing, Form: Alaves 11th, 12 pts, WLWLL FC Barcelona 1st, 21 pts, WWWWL
Google Result Probability: Alaves 17% Draw 21% FC Barcelona 62%
Hansi Flick will need to field a strong team, for this road match at a mid-table side, ahead of the international break. Top of the table sides, of which Barca is one, can’t afford to drop points here. An injury-riddled group, Flick’s team selection is pretty clear and straight-forward.
Knowing what limitations he has to deal with, you can kind of easily predict his selection here.
FC Barcelona Starting XI Prediction at Alaves
Inaki Pena; Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Alejandro Balde; Marc Casado, Eric Garcia, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.