Alaves vs Barcelona: TV channel, live stream, team news & prediction
By Max Parsons
Barcelona travel to Alaves on Sunday night hoping to bounce back from midweek Copa del Rey disappointment.
The cup holders were dumped out on Thursday, suffering a 3-2 extra-time defeat to Athletic Club. The loss marked a third consecutive game without victory, having drawn to Granada in La Liga and lost to Real Madrid in the Supercopa semi-finals in the two fixtures prior.
Sitting sixth in the table, La Blaugrana are in the midst of the race for Champions League qualification and can maintain pressure with a win against a struggling Alaves side, who sit in the relegation zone. Jose Luiz Mendilibar's side have failed to win since late November, registering five defeats and three draws in their last eight outings.
Here's 90min's preview of this clash.
How to watch Alaves vs Barcelona on TV
When is kick off? Sunday 23 January, 20:0 (GMT)
Where is it being played? Mendizorroza Stadium, Vitoria-Gasteiz
What TV channel is it on? Premier Sports 1 (UK), ESPN+ (US), TSN (Canada)
Highlights? La Liga Santander YouTube channel
Who's the referee? Jorge Figueroa Vazquez
Alaves team news
The hosts are in good health heading into Sunday's clash, with only Ruben Duarte and Ximo Navarro absent through injury.
Furthermore, Mendilibar will be boosted by the return of Florian Lejeune to the back line after the Frenchman served his one-match ban.
Barcelona team news
Xavi was given some mightily frustrating news during his side's defeat in Bilbao on Thursday. Ansu Fati, following his introduction from the bench in Thursday's cup defeat, was forced off having seemingly suffered an injury relapse.
The forward is expected to miss out alongside certain absentees Samuel Umtiti, Eric Garcia and Sergi Roberto, while Memphis Depay is a slight doubt to feature.
Elsewhere, Gavi is suspended after being sent off against Granada in Barça's previous La Liga fixture, while Ousmane Dembele will not be involved amid his transfer saga.
You can read Barcelona's predicted lineup here.
Alaves vs Barcelona head to head record
Unsurprisingly, La Blaugrana are the dominant force in this fixture, winning 29 of the 42 meetings between the clubs while Alaves have come out on top just six times - there have been seven draws.
Sunday's hosts haven't beaten Barcelona since early in the 2016/17 campaign and have lost nine of the previous 11 encounters - by an aggregate of 32-4 - although they did hold Sunday's visitors to a 1-1 draw earlier this season.
Alaves vs Barcelona prediction
Simply put, this Barcelona side are lightyears away from being the creatively destructive and domineering force we've become accustomed too.
While they do have some supremely talented footballers, their journey as a collective is a long way off reaching its destination - their struggle against top teams is evidence enough.
Having said that, this work in progress should comfortably come out on top against a struggling Alaves outfit.
Prediction: Alaves 1-3 Barcelona