Barcelona's pursuit of La Liga leaders Real Madrid will continue on Sunday afternoon, when they welcome struggling Alaves to Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys for a must-win contest.

Hansi Flick's side are currently third in the La Liga table, seven points behind the reigning champions Real Madrid, while Alaves occupy 17th, only one point above the relegation zone at a vital stage of the campaign.

Match preview

Barcelona were in sensational form in La Liga last weekend, recording a 7-1 win over Valencia, but that success proved to be just the second victory in Spain's top flight since the start of November.

Indeed, the Catalan giants have won just two of their last nine in the league, suffering four defeats in the process, which has seen them lose vital ground at the top of the division, with both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid ahead of them.

Real Madrid and Atletico both play on Saturday this weekend, so there is a chance that Barcelona could be 10 points off the summit and six points off second by the time that they take to the field, demonstrating the importance of this fixture.

Flick's side will enter the match off the back of a 2-2 draw with Atalanta BC in their final match in the league phase of the Champions League, and a successful campaign saw them claim second spot in the overall table.

Barcelona now simply must put together a run of wins in the league - it would be a shock to see them lose on Sunday, but three defeats have already been suffered at their temporary home during the 2024-25 campaign, while Alaves' last win over the Catalan giants actually came on their travels during the 2016-17 season.

Alaves are on a four-game losing run against Barcelona, including a 3-0 reverse earlier this season, but they did hold the Catalan side to a 1-1 draw in this fixture during the 2021-22 La Liga campaign.

El Glorioso finished 10th in Spain's top flight last term, which represented an excellent season, but it has been more difficult for the Basque outfit to pick up positive results in 2024-25, and they currently sit towards the bottom of the division.

Indeed, Eduardo Coudet's side boast a record of five wins, six draws and 10 defeats from 21 matches, with 21 points leaving them in 17th, only one point above 18th-placed Espanyol on the same number of games.

Alaves have actually only lost one of their last seven in the league, though, and they have picked up four points from their last two matches, beating Real Betis 3-1 in Seville before holding Celta Vigo last time out.

The Basque side are also unbeaten in their last three league games on their travels, and they will be the fresher of the two sides, with Barcelona involved in a high-energy Champions League contest on Wednesday night.

Team News

Inigo Martinez has been out since the start of January with a muscular issue, but the Barcelona centre-back is now in the final stages of his recovery, and there is a slight chance that he could be involved in the squad here.

Dani Olmo, though, is again expected to miss out, with his return instead likely to come against Valencia in the Copa del Rey next week.

Marc Bernal and Marc-Andre ter Stegen remain long-term absentees with serious knee injuries, while Andreas Christensen is missing due to a muscular problem, but Barcelona have no fresh concerns following their Champions League clash with Atalanta.

Wojciech Szczesny is likely to keep his spot between the sticks, but there is expected to be a change in midfield and at the back, with Pau Cubarsi and Marc Casado in line for recalls on Sunday afternoon.

As for Alaves, Antonio Blanco is available again after serving a suspension, but Antonio Sivera remains on the treatment table with a hand injury, while Abdel Abqar is banned due to his yellow card against Celta last time out.

Santiago Mourino could be the player to benefit in the middle of the defence, with the 22-year-old possibly replacing Abqar.

There are unlikely to be any further changes from the side that started against Celta, though, and there will be another start through the middle for Kike Garcia, who has scored nine La Liga goals during an impressive campaign.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Alaves possible starting lineup:
Owono; Tenaglia, Mourino, Diarra, M Sanchez; Guevara, Benavidez; Vicente, Guridi, Conechny; Kike Garcia

We say: Barcelona 3-1 Alaves

Alaves have enough quality to get their name on the scoresheet in this match, but we are finding it difficult to back against a Barcelona side that simply have to win; there is so much quality in the Catalan outfit's attack, and it would be a huge surprise if they were unable to collect all three points on Sunday afternoon.

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

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