Deportivo Alaves vs Atletico Madrid
Estadio de Mendizorroza, Vitoria Gasteiz
Tuesday, 29-10-2019 @9pm
Atletico Madrid broke a run of three consecutive league draws with a comfortable 2-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao at Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday, and Los Rojiblancos will now have eyes on top spot in La Liga when they head to the Basque Country to face Alaves on Matchday 11. Atleti destroyed Babazorros 0-4 here last term and a similar result could be on the cards this time around following Alaves’ heavy defeat at Villarreal on Friday.
Goals from Saul Niguez and Alvaro Morata ensured that Atletico Madrid took full advantage of the El Clasico postponement to move bang into contention at the head of affairs in La Liga, and although they may be shuffled down from 2nd to 3rd on Sunday if Granada beat Betis at Los Carmenes, Los Rojiblancos will definitely go top, albeit temporarily, with a win over Alaves on Tuesday evening.
Atleti are of course a team well renowned for their efficiency and for just doing enough in the majority of their games. Indeed, stretching back to the start of the 2018/19 season, they have only won four La Liga fixtures by more than a two-goal margin. Two of those successes came against Huesca who were relegated last term, and the other two came against this week’s opponents Alaves.
Diego Simeone’s side cruised to 3-0 and 0-4 victories in both meetings last season, results which are likely to be fresh in the memory of Alaves going into this Matchday 11 clash. And if the apprehension based on recent meetings wasn’t enough, Alaves have to deal with this stern Atleti team and a quick turnaround following a 4-1 hiding against Villarreal at Estadio de la Ceramica on Friday night.
The result marked Alaves’ fifth defeat of the campaign already and their fourth from five games on the road – form which has left them just two points above the relegation zone in 14th – a position which could worsen on Sunday depending on how the remaining Matchday 10 fixtures play out.
A clear positive for Alaves is that they have been strong at Mendizorroza so far this season; Babazorros have won their last two outings here 2-0 against Celta Vigo and Mallorca, taking their home points tally to ten from five matches.
Their sole defeat here against Sevilla (0-1) on Matchday 4 was further evidence of Alaves’ limitations though, and it’s hard to envisage Asier Garitano’s side being good enough to claim anything from this clash against a watertight Atleti side, whose only defeat in 13 matches in all competitions this season came against an inspired Real Sociedad at Anoeta in mid-September.
Atleti have kept seven clean sheets in their ten La Liga games, conceding just five times in total.
Barcelona vs Real Valladolid
Estadio Camp Nou, Barcelona
Tuesday, 29-10-2019 @11:15pm
Civil unrest in Catalonia led to the disappointing yet understandable postponement of El Clasico on Friday evening, leaving Barcelona with a few days off after their hard-fought 1-2 Champions League success away to Slavia Prague in midweek. Ernesto Valverde’s side are set to return on Tuesday evening against Valladolid at Camp Nou, where they will be bidding for their fifth straight league win and their 12th consecutive La Liga victory at home.
Valladolid have made a really positive start to the new season, but it’s difficult to comprehend the size of the task which they face here on Matchday 11 – at least in terms of trying to land all three points at Camp Nou.
Barcelona have been beaten just once in their last 59 home La Liga games, an incredible run dating back to September 2016 when Alaves pulled off a shock 1-2 triumph. Real Betis are the only side to turn over the Catalan giants since (3-4, November 2018) and Barca have otherwise won 49 and drawn nine in front of their own supporters over the course of the last three years.
Those stats easily help us to contextualise why Valladolid are huge 14/1 outsiders for this contest, and if anything, that price looks a little on the short side – especially considering that Barca will be fresh for this and Pucela have to cope with a quick turnaround following their home game against Eibar on Saturday.
Valladolid emerged 2-0 winners from that fixture to climb up to 8th in the La Liga table, and the Castille and Leon outfit have to be commended for the progress they have made so far this term after narrowly beating the drop in 2018/19.
Pucela have lost just two of their 10 league outings so far in the new campaign and head to Camp Nou unbeaten in their last five matches. Whilst half of their games have finished level, away draws against Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao have demonstrated that Sergio’s side can cope with the big occasions.
This Tuesday’s fixture requires even more from Valladolid if they are to get anything, but the visitors will be encouraged by their recent meetings with Barca, which have generally been quite close.
Whilst Pucela have won one and lost five of the last six matches between the pair, Barca’s margin of victory has only been a single goal in three of those clashes, including both games in La Liga last term.
Upcoming games
Wednesday, 30-10-2019
-Real Sociedad vs Levante @9pm
-Valencia vs Sevilla @9pm
-Athletic Bilbao vs Espanyol @10pm
-Real Betis vs Celta Vigo @11pm
-Real Madrid vs Leganes @11:15pm
Thursday, 31-10-2019
-Eibar vs Villarreal @9pm
-Mallorca vs Osasuna @9pm
-Getafe vs Granada @11:15pm
