Two La Liga teams looking to move further away from the relegation zone will lock horns at the Mendizorroza on Saturday as Alaves take on Celta Vigo.
The hosts will be hoping to claim their third successive home victory, while the visitors could extend their unbeaten away run to three games with at least a draw in Northern Spain.
Match preview
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Alaves extended their unbeaten league run to five matches when they played out an entertaining 2-2 draw away against Champions League hopefuls Sevilla last weekend, however they came so close to securing all three points.
First-half strikes from Victor Laguardia and Joselu had put the visitors in front before the break, but they were unable to hold on for a famous win at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, as Ivan Rakitic netted a 92nd-minute equaliser to force both sides to share the spoils.
Nevertheless, Javier Calleja will have been pleased with his team's efforts and that point has at least moved them three points clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand still to play.
Alaves head into Saturday's encounter with an impressive home record against Celta Vigo; Babazorros El Glorioso have won nine of their 13 meetings against them at the Mendizorroza in La Liga, which is their joint-best home record against any opponent, along with Espanyol, in the Spanish top-flight.
Calleja's side, however, have lost each of their last three league meetings with Celta Vigo, including last season's 3-1 loss at home in April.
Victory for Alaves this weekend would keep their momentum going as they head into their next two league fixtures against relegation candidates Granada and Getafe, matches they would now be expected to win given their upturn in form.
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Alaves's unbeaten run has seen them overtake Celta Vigo in the La Liga standings, as the latter have failed to win any of their last four league matches, including three successive draws.
After picking up solitary points against Rayo Vallecano and Barcelona, the Sky Blues played out a 1-1 draw at home against draw specialists Villarreal last weekend, with Brais Mendez netting a 72nd-minute equaliser to cancel out Alberto Moreno's first-half opener.
Eduardo Coudet's side were six points better off at this stage last season and were battling for a European place, however, this term they are positioned in 15th, just two points above the drop zone.
Vigo will be desperate to return to winning ways this weekend, especially against a side who are also hovering just above the bottom three, and they can take some confidence into their clash at the Mendizorroza, as they have accumulated seven points from a possible 12 available away from home, keeping three clean sheets in the process.
Victory for Coudet's men would be their first in November and could see them climb as high as 12th in the table.
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Team News
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Alaves full-back Ximo Navarro is their only injury concern as he continues to recover from a knee ligament tear which has ruled him out for the rest of 2021.
Calleja is unlikely to make too many changes, if any, to his starting lineup with wingers Edgar Mendez and Luis Rioja set to support central striker Joselu in attack.
As for Celta Vigo, defender Hugo Mallo is sidelined for a couple more weeks with a hamstring injury so Kevin Vazquez is expected to retain his place at right-back.
Centre-back Nestor Araujo will be hoping to force his way back into the first XI ahead of Joseph Aidoo, who started the last match alongside Jeison Murillo.
Strikers Iago Aspas and Santi Mina – who have netted nine times between them so far this term – are expected to start once again in front of attacking midfield trio Mendez, Denis Suarez and Nolito.
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Pacheco; Aguirregabiria, Laguardia, Lejeune, Duarte; Moya, Loum; Mendez, Pons, Rioja; Joselu
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Dituro; Vazquez, Murillo, Araujo, Galan; Tapia; Mendez, Suarez, Nolito; Mina, Aspas
We say: Alaves 2-2 Celta Vigo
Both Alaves and Celta Vigo will fancy their chances of securing all three points this weekend, though the visitors will head into this game with a slight psychological edge after winning each of the last three meetings.
The two teams played out score draws in their last league matches, and with little to separate them here, another could be on the cards at the Mendizorroza.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Celta Vigo win with a probability of 45.85%. A draw had a probability of 28.2% and a win for Alaves had a probability of 25.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Celta Vigo win was 0-1 with a probability of 14.26%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.33%) and 1-2 (8.47%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.94%), while for an Alaves win it was 1-0 (9.9%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with an 8.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Celta Vigo would win this match.
