Alaves vs. Barcelona: Odds, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info Barcelona could wrap up the La Liga title in Week 34, with victory at Alaves on Tuesday potentially enough to guarantee them a second successive league crown. Atletico Madrid sit nine points behind with five games remaining in their season. They'll only be able to finish level on points with Barca if the Blaugrana defeat Alaves while they lose at home to Valencia on Wednesday, and Atleti's head-to-head record means they couldn't overhaul their Camp Nou rivals. Alaves are eighth in La Liga and could temporarily move up to seventh with a positive result, though they've lost in each of Barca's last four visits to the Mendizorrotza Stadium. Ernesto Valverde's side have added motivation to secure their 24th win of the league campaign, too, knowing they'd be guaranteed to finish above rivals Real Madrid in third.
Some around the Camp Nou may have already begun the victory processions in mid-April, but the chase is on to put the rubber stamp on their crown over the coming days if possible. The Catalans did it the hard way against Real Sociedad on Saturday and triumphed 2-1 over their Basque guests thanks to goals from defenders Clement Lenglet and Jordi Alba, via ITV Football (UK
only): There are 31 points between them and Alaves, though it was only in September 2016 that the latter managed to beat Barca 2-1 on their own soil.
Five matches without tasting victory has left manager Abelardo Fernandez's side in a state of limbo. What looked like high hopes for European qualification have diminished after they took just two points from those games. They are now six points from a UEFA Europa League spot. Sportswriter Sid Lowe discussed Barca's desire to put the finishing touches on La Liga ahead of their UEFA Champions League semi-final meeting against Liverpool in May:
AFP's Tom Allnutt put their trophy pursuit into further context and confirmed Saturday is the latest Barca will win the title should they take six points from their next two outings: On Wed night if they beat Alaves, Atleti lose to Valencia
On Sat afternoon if they beat Alaves, Atleti don't take 4+ points v Valencia + Valladolid On Sat night if they beat Alaves, Atletico take 4+ points v Valencia + Valladolid, they beat Levante It would be a relief for Valverde to know his team's league commitments were effectively over before entering the last four of Europe's premier competition, with a Copa del Rey final against Valencia also to play on May 24. Alaves let slip a 2-0 lead and drew 2-2 against relegation candidates Real Valladolid on Friday, though Jony's strike to put them two goals up showed great determination, via Eleven Sports (UK only):
It's that knack to create something from nothing that Los Babazorros will need at home to Barcelona. The last time they took a result against Barca at home was in 2005. Alaves have the worst recent record of any team in La Liga's top half, but a surprise result against Barcelona would give them the ideal impetus to turn things around and revive their push for Europe.
