FC Barcelona looks to confirm its recovery following its 3-1 defeat at home to Real Madrid a week ago when it visits Alaves on Saturday evening.
Barca travels to the Basque Region after arguably its best performance of the season saw it win 2-0 away to Juventus in the Champions League and take a big step towards assuring qualification for the group stage of the competition.
The win in Turin came just a day after Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned as club president and it seems as if the departure of the unpopular Bartomeu acted as a stimulus to a team unhappy at his attempts to lower their wages for a second time due to the club’s economic situation.
Ronald Koeman’s men now need to start collecting points in La Liga after two defeats and a draw from their last three games. Koeman will be without Ronald Araujo in defense after it was confirmed the Uruguayan has suffered a hamstring injury and Gerard Pique will be back after missing out through suspension in midweek.
17-year-old Pedri also captured the headlines with an assured and creative display and Koeman will have to decide whether to stick with the youngster or put 18-year-old Ansu Fati in on the left of the attack.
Alaves won 2-0 away to Valladolid last weekend to lift some pressure off coach Pablo Machin and have attacking talent in Lucas Perez, Joselu and Deyverson, who is always a handful for defenders, although the side is still struggling to adapt to Machin’s preferred system of three central defenders and two wing-backs.
