Barcelona return to action to host Alaves as manager Hansi Flick seeks an immediate response following a difficult week. The Catalan club suffered back-to-back high-profile defeats, losing in the Champions League to Paris Saint-Germain before dropping a 2-1 decision at home in the Clasico against Real Madrid. Flick stated he has complete confidence in his squad as they aim to secure a comfortable win and relieve pressure on both the players and the coaching staff.
Team News
Defensive injury concerns have forced Barcelona to deploy an unfamiliar backline featuring two natural midfielders. Brian Fariñas starts at right-back, while Frenkie de Jong moves into a centre-back partnership alongside Pau Cubarsi. The starting XI features Garcia in goal; Fariñas, Cubarsi, De Jong, and Cancelo in defense; Rodri and Pedri in midfield; and Yamal, Fermin, and Adeyemi supporting Raphinha in attack. The substitutes bench includes Abdelkarim, Balde, Bernal, Campos, Jesus, Gavi, Gordon, Livakovic, Martin, Szczesny, Tunkara, and Victor.
Alaves selected a starting lineup consisting of Sivera; Tenaglia, Koski, Otto; Perez, Guevara, Protesoni, Suarez, Enriquez; Boye, Rebbach. Their substitutes list features Alena, Blanco, Diallo Selu, Diaz, Ibanez, Manas, Martinez, Novoa Ramos, Olaiz, A. Rodriguez, M. Rodriguez, and Valentini.
Match Schedule and Broadcasting
The fixture kicks off at 20:00 GMT, 16:00 ET, or 13:00 PT on Saturday, October 31. Live television coverage in the UK is provided by Disney Plus, with streaming available across various devices through the Disney Plus app. Subscription prices in the UK range from £5.99 to £14.99 monthly, or between £99.90 and £149.90 annually.
La Liga Form and Statistics
Historically, Barcelona held an unbeaten run of 17 matches against Alaves across all competitions—winning 15 and drawing two—prior to a defeat in May. Furthermore, Barca have gone eight home top-flight games unbeaten against Alaves since September 2016, securing seven wins and one draw. The sole exception in that sequence was a 1-1 draw in October 2021, after which Barcelona won three consecutive home fixtures against them, most recently coming from behind to triumph 3-1 last November through goals from Lamine Yamal and a brace by Dani Olmo after Pablo Ibanez opened the scoring.
Overall, Barcelona’s home record against Alaves stands at 21 wins, two draws, and two losses, with their only other home defeat in the fixture coming via a lone goal from Nan Ribera in February 2000. Entering this round of fixtures, Barcelona’s Raphinha led the division’s scoring charts with 13 goals in nine games, with Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe being the only other player in double figures with 11 goals in 10 appearances. Meanwhile, Alaves remain one of seven teams yet to secure an away win in the 2026/27 Liga season, recording two draws and two defeats on the road.
