Barcelona welcome relegation-battling Deportivo Alaves to their slice of Catalonia on Sunday lunchtime.
The Catalan giants trail Atletico as well as Real Madrid in La Liga’s title race and can ill-afford any more slip-ups – particularly against opponents scrambling around the opposite end of the league table.
Alaves have collected just one win in the last three months. Eduardo Coudet was appointed midway through this barren stretch and has overseen four draws from his six league games at the helm, ensuring that the team from Vitoria have bounced in and out of the relegation zone.
Here’s everything you need to know about this clash of teams with wildly contrasting objectives.
Hansi Flick could scarcely have been more emphatic. “At the moment, he is the number one,” the German said of Wojciech Szczesny. Despite littering his appearances between the sticks with blunders and bone-headed errors, the veteran Pole – who spent the first two months of the season retired – will continue to keep goal for the Catalans.
The club’s first-choice custodian Marc-Andre ter Stegen remains sidelined with a torn ACL, joining Marc Bernal in the treatment room for most, if not all, of the campaign.Dani Olmo and Andreas Christensen are nursing foot problems, but Inigo Martinez is available once more after recovering from a thigh injury.
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Alaves (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Casado, Pedro; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Lewandowski.
Coudet has goalkeeper issues of his own to deal with. The undisputed number one Antonio Sivera has missed every fixture this year with a broken hand which is set to keep him out until mid-February.
Alaves will also be without first-choice centre-back Abdel Abqar after the combative Morocco international collected a suspension-inducing tenth yellow card of the season last weekend. Midfielder Joan Jordan is a doubt with muscular injury.
Alaves predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Owono; Tenaglia, Mourino, Diarra, Sanchez; Blanco, Guevara; Vicente, Guridi, Conechny; Garcia.
