Both Alaves and Leganes will be bidding to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they lock horns at Mendizorrotza Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Alaves are currently 16th in the La Liga table, picking up 13 points from their first 14 matches of the campaign, while Leganes sit 14th, having collected 14 points from their opening 14 games of 2024-25.
Match preview
© Imago
Alaves have won four, drawn one and lost nine of their 14 La Liga matches this season to collect 13 points, which has left them in 16th spot in the table, three points outside of the relegation zone.
Luis Garcia's side opened November with a 1-0 victory over Mallorca, but they were beaten 3-0 at Villarreal before the November international break and then suffered a 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid last weekend.
El Glorioso actually led 1-0 at Wanda Metropolitano until the 76th minute, when an Antoine Griezmann penalty levelled the scores, before Alexander Sorloth won it for the Red and Whites in the 86th minute.
Alaves finished 10th in La Liga last season on their return to the top flight, but it will be difficult for them to push for a top-half finish this term unless they can find some consistency in the coming months.
The Basque side have not tackled Leganes in Spain's top flight since February 2020, when the points were shared in a 1-1 draw, but Alaves won their last meeting in April 2023, which took place in the Segunda Division.
© Imago
Leganes will be searching for their first La Liga win over Alaves since November 2018 this weekend, although each of their last three contests in the top flight of Spanish football has finished all square.
The visitors will enter this match off the back of a 3-0 home defeat to Real Madrid, but they have been victorious in three of their last five games in all competitions, including league successes over Celta Vigo and Sevilla.
The reigning Segunda Division champions have won three, drawn five and lost six of their 14 league matches this season to collect 14 points, which has left them in 14th spot in the table.
Borja Jimenez's side are yet to win on their travels in La Liga this term, but they have drawn four of their seven away matches, while Alaves have only been victorious in half (three) of their home league games in 2024-25.
Both of these sides could be battling towards the bottom of the division this season, which makes matches between them crucial, and it is shaping up to be an interesting affair at Mendizorrotza Stadium.
Team News
© Imago
Alaves will be without the services of Hugo Novoa and Carlos Benavidez on Saturday due to injury problems, while Manu Sanchez will miss the contest through suspension, having picked up a milestone yellow card against Atletico.
Head coach Garcia could make just the one change to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Diego Simeone's side, with Aleksandar Sedlar likely to be introduced in place of Sanchez.
Kike Garcia was given the nod through the middle last time out, with Toni Martinez starting on the bench, and that is expected to be the case this weekend, while Jon Guridi should again feature as the number 10.
As for Leganes, Enric Franquesa will miss the match due to a muscular problem, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape heading into their clash with Alaves this weekend.
Head coach Jimenez is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack following the loss with Real Madrid, but there could be a change in the final third of the field, with Dani Raba potentially replacing Munir El Haddadi.
Sebastien Haller is another option through the middle, but Miguel de la Fuente is again likely to lead the line.
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Sivera; Tenaglia, Abqar, Mourino, Sedlar; Guevara, Blanco; Vicente, Guridi, Martin; Kike
Leganes possible starting lineup:
Dmitrovic; Gonzalez, Nastasic, Hernandez; Alti, Tapia, Neyou, Cruz; Brasanac, De la Fuente, Raba
We say: Alaves 1-1 Leganes
The last three La Liga meetings between these two sides have finished 1-1, and we are predicting the same scoreline here. It would not be a surprise to see a home or an away win on Saturday afternoon, but a lot of the signs are pointing towards a draw, which would not be the worst result in the world for either side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
