*Standings at the time of writing

Competition/Round: 2026-27 La Liga, Matchday 11

Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Xavi Espart, Andreas Christensen, Roony Bardghji, Dani Olmo, Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia (out)

Alavés Outs & Doubts: Facundo Garcés, Mikel Rodríguez (out)

Date/Time: Saturday, October 25, 2026, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 4pm ET, 1pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Sunday)

Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Referee: Adrián Cordero Vega

VAR: Valentín Pizarro Gómez

How to watch on TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), SuperSport (Nigeria), Movistar (Spain), Not Available (UK), others

How to watch online: ESPN+ (USA), Disney Plus (UK), FanCode (India), Movistar+ (Spain), others

Following a painful loss to Real Madrid in El Clásico last weekend to end their perfect start to the La Liga season, Barcelona look to return to winning ways when they welcome Deportivo Alavés to the Greatest Stadium on Earth on Saturday Night Fútbol.

Barça need to bounce back after two tough defeats to PSG and Real Madrid, and three points this weekend are a must ahead of another brutal week of games against Aston Villa in the Champions League and Atlético Madrid in the league.

Hansi Flick spoke about the importance of a win in his pre-match press conference and did not use the massive injury crisis in his defense as an excuse: the coach thinks the team can still play better and defend well even without several key pieces at the back, and Alavés will provide a good test on Saturday.

This weekend’s visitors are comfortable in mid-table and have been very good defensively so far, with a strong structure in their 5-3-2 system and tons of physicality in midfield, and they’re also a threat on set pieces and counter-attacks.

Barça need to keep the ball well and convert their chances early. They should have gotten a lot more out of both games against PSG and Madrid, and the lack of control in midfield and sharpness in front of goal played a major part in those losses.

So it’s up to Flick and his troops to play well, score goals and put together a strong overall performance that brings back the good vibes ahead of another massive week.

Let’s dance.

Barcelona (4-3-3): Joan; Fariñas, Cubarsí, Martín, Balde; Gavi, Bernal, De Jong; Adeyemi, Jesus, Gordon

Alavés (5-3-2): Sivera; Pérez, Tenaglia, Koski, Valentini, Rebbach; Ibáñez, Aleñá, Blanco; Boyé, Martínez

Barça are hungry to respond after last week and Alavés will provide a good test, but I’m trusting the home team to put on a good show: 3-0 Barça.