Barcelona have been in relatively good form in La Liga over the last few weeks. They have won four of their last five in the competition, which is impressive considering the poor moment that the club has experienced in recent months. Xavi Hernandez’s side will hope to continue their promising streak when they travel to Vitoria on Saturday evening to take on Alaves.
Ferran Torres joined Barcelona’s growing injury list during the midweek victory over Osasuna, and he will miss the next month – a big blow for the Catalans. Fermin Lopez replaced him in that match, and Sport say that this will be the only change made by Xavi for Saturday’s match.
Despite scoring his first Barcelona goal on Wednesday, Vitor Roque looks set to remain on the bench, as Xavi manages his minutes effectively. Equally, Inigo Martinez, who has recovered from injury, isn’t expected to start.
Luis Garcia Plaza’s Alaves side won 3-0 away at Almeria last time out, but he will be forced into making two changes from that match. Andoni Gorosabel is suspended, while Carlos Vicente is injured – they are likely to be replaced by Nahuel Tenaglia and Alex Sola respectively. Samu Omorodion, who scored after 18 seconds in the reverse fixture, is in line to start.
This should be a very tough test for Barcelona. High-flying Alaves have won their last three La Liga matches, and they will fancy their chances of making it four on Saturday evening – for the Catalans, they will need to dig deep to come away from three points.
