Preview: Alaves vs Atletico Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups

Atletico Madrid will be aiming to record their first victory of their 2025-26 La Liga campaign when they make the trip to Mendizorrotza Stadium on Saturday afternoon to tackle Alaves.

Diego Simeone's side have collected just one point from their first two matches to sit down in 14th spot in the La Liga table, while Alaves are ninth, boasting three points from their opening two games of the season.

Match preview

Alaves started their campaign with a narrow win, beating Levante 2-1 on home soil, but they will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 defeat at Real Betis, with three points from two games leaving them in ninth spot in the division.

Eduardo Coudet's side were 15th in Spain's top flight last term, only two points clear of the relegation zone, so there is plenty of room for improvement during the current season.

Alaves have been victorious in nine of their previous 33 matches against Atletico in all competitions, and they have only actually been beaten in one of their last three fixtures with the capital giants.

Indeed, the corresponding match last season finished 0-0, while Alaves recorded a 2-0 victory when the pair locked horns at Mendizorrotza Stadium during the 2023-24 La Liga campaign.

The Blue and Whites have beaten Atletico twice at home in their last three attempts, drawing the other, with the capital giants not victorious in this particular fixture since January 2021.

There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a disappointing start to the season for Atletico, with Simeone's side only picking up one point from two matches, which has left them in 14th spot in the table.

The Red and Whites opened their campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Espanyol, and they were unable to bounce back last time out, being held to a 1-1 draw by Elche at Wanda Metropolitano.

It has been a summer of change at Atletico, with a number of new players joining the club, but the balance has not been right in the early stages of the season, and they are already playing catch-up to the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Simeone's side will be expecting to finish at least third this season, and the plan was to get a lot closer to the top of the division, but it has been an extremely underwhelming first two matches for the Rojiblancos.

A win over Alaves would leave Simeone feeling a lot better about his team's situation, though, especially ahead of matches against both Villarreal and Real Madrid before the end of September.

Alaves La Liga form:

Atletico Madrid La Liga form:

Team News

Alaves will be without the services of Lucas Boye through injury on Saturday, while Hugo Novoa and Nikola Maras require late fitness tests to determine their availability for the contest.

The home side could ultimately be unchanged from the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Real Betis, as there were plenty of positives to take from the performance despite the disappointing result.

Mariano Diaz is still waiting for his first start for Alaves following a move over the summer, and he is expected to again be named on the bench on Saturday, with Toni Martinez set to operate through the middle.

As for Atletico, Alex Baena and Jose Gimenez are out of the match due to injury problems, but the visitors have not reported any further issues ahead of their clash with Alaves.

Simeone is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack here, with Alexander Sorloth set to continue in the final third of the field alongside Julian Alvarez.

Conor Gallagher, Antoine Griezmann and Giacomo Raspadori are among the options for change, but Giuliano Simeone and Thiago Almada should continue in the wide areas for the Red and Whites.

Alaves possible starting lineup:

Sivera; Jonny, Tenaglia, Garces, Parada; Ibanez, Blanco; Vicente, Guridi, Alena; Martinez

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Llorente, Le Normand, Hancko, Ruggeri; Simeone, Cardoso, Barrios, Almada; Sorloth, Alvarez

We say: Alaves 1-1 Atletico Madrid

We are struggling to back Atletico with any real confidence here considering their early-season performances, while Alaves have enjoyed recent success over the capital giants at home; it should be a tight match, with the points potentially being shared in a low-scoring draw.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.