Deportivo Alaves vs Leganes
Estadio de Mendizorroza, Vitoria-Gasteiz
Friday, 13-12-2019 @11pm
Ref: Cesar Sato
Alaves posted consecutive wins and clean sheets against Valladolid (3-0) and Eibar (0-2) in November to lift themselves into mid-table, but they’ve been shuffled back to 15th over the past fortnight following defeats to Real Madrid (1-2) and Granada (3-0). While their narrow home reverse to Los Blancos can be easily excused (especially considering their fine effort in the game overall), last weekend’s beating against Granada at Los Carmenes was pretty woeful stuff from Babazorros.
Asier Garitano’s side are still five points clear of the drop zone, but they will view this Friday’s fixture against second-bottom Leganes as a must-win affair, considering they face Barcelona at Camp Nou in the final match before Christmas.
Defeat in both upcoming games could well see Alaves sucked into the relegation dogfight but their home form this season suggests they can hit back on Matchday 17. Babazorros have only lost to Real and Sevilla at Mendizorroza, where they have won four from eight this term, also picking up a decent 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid on Matchday 11.
It’s been a miserable campaign overall for Leganes but they managed to register their second win of the season last weekend after a run of one draw and four defeats from five. An Oscar Rodriguez double salvo spearheaded a much-needed 3-2 success for Los Pepineros against Celta Vigo at Butarque, and the result finally lifted Javier Aguirre’s side off bottom spot.
Lega still remains five points adrift of the safety line, though, in 19th and their away record this term doesn’t bode well for them going into this Friday’s game. Los Pepineros have picked up just two points from seven outings on their travels and have failed to score in four of their last five away matches.
Their form on the road is the key reason Lega are still stuck in such a bad position and punters should be wary until there’s some kind of turnaround. Lega will hope to land their first away win of the campaign on Matchday 17, but this venue hasn’t been kind to them in the recent past, as they have failed to triumph at Mendizorroza in their last eight visits.
Alaves are 15th in La Liga but have a fair home record this term, winning four and drawing two from eight games at Mendizorroza. Their two defeats came against Real Madrid and Sevilla. Leganes head into this Friday’s clash on the back of a 3-2 home win against Celta Vigo last week; however, they have toiled on the road this season with two draws and five defeats posted from seven outings. Alaves have not lost to Leganes in their last eight encounters against Los Pepineros at Mendizorroza.
The other La Liga fixtures this weekend
Saturday, 14-12-2019
-Granada vs Levante @3pm
-Real Sociedad vs Barcelona @6pm
-Athletic Bilbao vs Eibar @8:30pm
-Atletico Madrid vs Osasuna
Sunday, 15-12-2019
-Getafe vs Real Valladolid @2pm
-Celta Vigo vs Real Mallorca @4pm
-Espanyol vs Real Betis @6pm
-Sevilla vs Villarreal @8:30pm
-Valencia vs Real Madrid @11pm
