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

Atletico Madrid will be aiming to make it four straight wins in all competitions when they resume their La Liga campaign away to Alaves on Saturday afternoon.

Diego Simeone's side are currently second in the La Liga table, five points behind league leaders Barcelona, while Alaves are sixth in the division, boasting 11 points from seven matches.

Match preview

Alaves have a record of three wins, two draws and two defeats from their seven league matches this season, with 11 points leaving them in sixth position in the division, only four points behind fourth-placed Real Madrid on the same number of matches.

The Basque outfit actually picked up 10 points from their first four league games of the season before suffering back-to-back defeats to Racing de Santander and Valencia.

The Blue and Whites then played out a goalless draw with Athletic Bilbao last time out, and it has been a very encouraging start to the campaign for Quique Sanchez Flores' side.

Alaves have won nine of their previous 35 matches against Atletico in all competitions, suffering 19 defeats in the process, including a 1-0 reverse in their last game in January 2026.

However, Alaves are actually unbeaten in their last four home league games against Atletico, recording two wins in the process.

Atletico entered the September/October international break off the back of three straight wins in La Liga against Real Sociedad, Osasuna and Real Madrid.

Simeone's side are currently second in the table, five points behind the leaders Barcelona, and this match comes ahead of a standout Champions League fixture against Manchester United.

The Red and Whites have a busy October, taking to the field on six occasions, including league fixtures with Alaves, Espanyol, Deportivo La Coruna and Levante, and they now have the chance to put a strong run together in Spain's top flight.

Atletico will certainly be aiming to launch a title challenge this season, in addition to advancing deep into the Champions League, but it remains to be seen whether the capital outfit can show the consistency needed to be serious challengers in both competitions.

Alaves La Liga form:

Atletico Madrid La Liga form:

Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

Team News

Alaves will be without the services of Mikel Rodriguez, Facundo Garces and Ville Koski on Saturday, but the home side are otherwise in good shape.

Lucas Boye has scored four times in Spain's top flight this season and will continue in the final third of the field, while there should also be a spot for Toni Martinez, who is still waiting for his first goal of the campaign.

As for Atletico, Simeone is expected to have a fully-fit squad for this match, with Pablo Barrios and Alexander Sorloth recovering from injury problems.

Julian Alvarez is likely to be brought into the starting side, as the Argentina international looks to kickstart his campaign, having struggled to find his best form thus far.

Alex Baena and Giuliano Simeone are also in line to feature, while Lee Kang-in should be given the nod in the number 10 position for the Red and Whites.

There could also be a spot in midfield for Koke, with Marcos Llorente potentially moving into the right-back spot for the capital team.

Alaves possible starting lineup:

Sivera; Tenaglia, Valentini, Otto; Perez, Ibanez, Suarez, Blanco, Rebbach; Martinez, Boye

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Llorente, Romero, Hancko, Grimaldo; Koke, Cardoso; Simeone, Kang-in, Baena; Alvarez

We say: Alaves 0-1 Atletico Madrid

Alaves deserve a lot of respect for their overall performance level this season, but Atletico are on a roll at the moment, and we are expecting the Red and Whites to pick up all three points.

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