Barcelona Vs. Alaves 2016 La Liga: Preview, Predictions, Probable Lineups, Betting Tips, And Live Streaming
Barcelona will welcome La Liga newcomer Deportivo Alaves as Spanish football returns after two weeks of international break. The Catalan club has won all of their games this season so far, and now they look to overcome the challenge of the La Liga minnows.
Date, Kick-Off Time, and Venue
The game takes place on September 10, 2016 at the home ground of Barcelona, the Camp Nou. The kick-off time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. UK, 11:30 a.m. Pacific time, 2:30 p.m. EDT time, 9:30 Kenyan time, 10:30 p.m. UAE time, or 12 a.m. Indian time.
TV Schedule
In the U.S., the game will be live on beIN SPORTS / beIN SPORTS en Espanyol / fuboTV (free trial). In the U.K., the game will be broadcast on Sky Sports 2 / Sky Sports 2 HD / Sky Sports Mix / Sky Sports Mix HD. In India and sub-continents, the match is shown live on Sony Six.
Barcelona: Team News
Barcelona will probably be without their talisman Lionel Messi, who returned from the Argentine national team duty with discomfort in his groin. The club announced that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner had also picked up a slight hamstring injury. Barcelona hasn’t confirmed Messi will be unavailable for the match, but he is expected to take a rest, even if he recovers from the injuries.
Messi was seen enjoying some good times a couple of days ago, playing blind football.
In Messi’s absence, Suarez will lead the Barcelona attack. He will get assistance from Neymar, who has just returned to Barcelona following his national team participation in the Olympics and recent World Cup 2018 Qualifiers. The forward won gold for his national team in the Olympics and he also scored in recent games for Brazil. Alaves have every right to fear when Neymar is in goal-scoring form.
Luis Enrique has good news regarding Andres Iniesta’s injury, as the midfield maestro returns to full fitness. The Barca captain, who recently released his autobiography, The Artist: Being Andres Iniesta, is expected to make a place on the bench against Alaves.
New signing Andre Gomes suffered a muscle injury during the break, and he will be unavailable, although Luis Enrique will not lose any sleep over his absence. The Portuguese international has not started any games in Barcelona colors, with Ivan Rakitic and Dennis Suarez preferred over Gomes by the Barcelona manager.
Barcelona Predicted Line-Up (4-3-3)
ter Stegen; Roberto – Pique – Mascherano – Alba; Busquets – Rakitic – Denis Suarez; Turan – Suarez – Neymar.
What is your starting line-up against Alaves, Blaugranes? Please mention in the comments section below, at the end of this article.
Alaves: Team News
Deportivo Alaves have not lost any of their games in La Liga, so far. However, they have not won any games either, having drawn their first two games against Atletico Madrid and Sporting Gijon.
Aleksandar Katai has signed for the club in the deadline day of transfer window, with Alaves having high hopes for the winger. The Serbian is fit to play against Barcelona and so is defender Aleksandar Pantic, who has recovered from a muscle injury.
Alaves Predicted Line-Up (4-3-3)
Pacheco; Kiko – Laguardia – Alexis – Hernandez; Garcia – Llorente – Torres – Ibai; Gomez – Edgar Mendez – Deyverson.
Barcelona vs Alaves: Head-To-Head
Alaves have met Barca eight times in all competitions to this date. Unsurprisingly, Barcelona lead the way for winning games, having won six of the eight games. The remaining two games ended in a draw.
Barcelona’s recent meeting with the Basque club came in 2012 Copa Del Rey. In both legs, Barcelona earned the victory, winning the first leg 3-0 and the second leg 3-1.
Barcelona vs Alaves: Prediction
#FCBarcelona's MSN will easily walk over Deportivo #Alaves in #LaLiga round 3 ??? https://t.co/n70BWKOXVq pic.twitter.com/qeK0hhL0TU
— FootballPredictions.com ? (@FBPredictions) September 8, 2016
There won’t be any prizes for guessing who is the favorite to win this fixture. Barcelona is a much stronger team than Alaves, and even the absence of the world’s best player, Lionel Messi, will not stop Barcelona from intimidating the novices of the La Liga.
However, Alaves performed admirably against Atletico Madrid in the first game, so the game is not expected to be a rout.
Final Predicted Score: Barcelona 3, Alaves 1.
Barcelona vs Alaves: Betting Tips and Odds
- Barcelona win: 1/14
- A draw: 12/1
- Alaves win: 30/1
- Over 2.5 goals: 1/4
- Under 2.5 goals: 5/2
Barca forward Suarez (2/1), Neymar (3/1), and Arda Turan (9/2) are backed with these odds to be the first goalscorer. Alaves forward Deyverson is offered (7/2) to be an anytime goalscorer.
The odds are provided by Paddypower.
Barcelona vs Alaves: Live Streaming
The game between Barcelona and Alaves can be watched live online free through the link provided here.
The link will be updated just before kick-off.
[Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images]
