Preview: Alaves vs Barcelona - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh from being confirmed as La Liga winners for the 2025-26 campaign, Barcelona will continue their domestic campaign away to relegation-threatened Alaves on Wednesday night.

Hansi Flick's side secured the title with a 2-0 win over Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday, and they will now tackle an Alaves outfit that sit 18th in the La Liga table.

Match preview

Alaves have only actually lost two of their last eight La Liga matches, but they have won just twice during that period, and the Basque outfit are firmly involved in the relegation battle in Spain's top flight heading towards the final straight.

El Glorioso will enter this game off the back of a 1-1 draw with Elche, and they sit 18th in the La Liga table, one point behind 17th-placed Girona, who face Rayo Vallecano on Monday night.

Quique Sanchez Flores' side will take on Real Oviedo and Rayo Vallecano in their final two league matches of the season, and wins in both of those games are not beyond them, but a defeat against Barcelona in this contest would leave them extremely vulnerable.

Alaves have picked up 24 points from their 17 home league matches this season, which is only the 14th-best record in the division, and they will be hosting a Barcelona side that have the best away record in La Liga this term, securing 37 points from 17 games.

Earlier this season, Barcelona recorded a 3-1 victory over Alaves, and the Catalan side are currently on a six-game winning run against El Glorioso, including a 3-0 success in the corresponding game during the 2024-25 season.

Barcelona will be on a high heading into this match, having secured the La Liga title on Sunday evening with a 2-0 success over bitter rivals Real Madrid; Flick's side are incredibly 14 points ahead of second-placed Los Blancos with three games left.

The Catalan outfit have been victorious in each of their last 11 matches in Spain's top flight, while they have won their last six in all competitions, but their elimination in the quarter-finals of the Champions League to Atletico Madrid will still be on their minds.

Planning is already underway for next season, with defensive reinforcements needed in order to make a serious play for the European Cup in 2026-27, but they will be aiming to finish their domestic campaign with three more wins over Alaves, Real Betis and Valencia.

Barcelona comfortably lead the head-to-head record against Alaves, with the Catalan outfit winning 36 of their previous 50 matches, suffering only seven defeats in the process.

In La Liga, the two teams have met on 39 occasions, with Barcelona winning 27 of those encounters, while Alaves have not managed to overcome the Catalan team on home soil since December 2001 - demonstrating the size of El Glorioso's task on Wednesday night.

Alaves La Liga form:

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Barcelona La Liga form:

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Barcelona form (all competitions):

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Team News

Alaves will again be missing Lucas Boye (muscle) and Facundo Garces (suspended) on Wednesday night, while the hosts need to make checks on both Toni Martinez and Jon Guridi after the pair were forced off in the 1-1 draw with Elche.

Martinez has scored seven times in his last seven La Liga appearances, and Alaves are hopeful that the striker will be cleared to feature against the champions.

Carles Alena is also available again following a suspension and should face his former club, while another ex-Barcelona player Denis Suarez could be introduced into the XI.

As for Barcelona, Lamine Yamal remains unavailable for selection due to a hamstring injury, while Raphinha, who is only just back from a muscular problem of his own, will miss out here due to the milestone yellow card that he picked up against Real Madrid.

Andreas Christensen is back in training following a serious knee injury, and there is hope that the Denmark international could feature before the end of the campaign.

Barcelona boss Flick is expected to ring the changes from El Clasico, with Jules Kounde, Alejandro Balde, Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong potentially all being introduced, in addition to Robert Lewandowski, who has seven goals in his previous five appearances against Alaves.

Alaves possible starting lineup:

Sivera; Perez, Otto, Tenaglia, Parada, Rebbach; Suarez, Blanco, Alena; Martinez, Diabate

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; Kounde, E Garcia, Araujo, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Rashford, Gavi, Fermin; Lewandowski

We say: Alaves 1-3 Barcelona

Alaves desperately need a positive result to boost their survival hopes, but Barcelona are simply flying at the moment, and we are expecting the champions to put another win on the board.

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