Five things about Alavés v Barça
Time for another league game as FC Barcelona travel for to Vitoria to fulfil their LaLiga gameweek 9 fixture against Alavés. The match sees eleventh take on first in the table, and with both sides having lost last time out in the league, there will be an eagerness to return to winning ways before the upcoming international break.
Blaugrana goals very likely
The shooting boots are currently fitting well for Hansi Flick's side ahead of this Alavés v FC Barcelona match. The blaugranes are leading the way in Europe for goals scored across the five major leagues, having scored 25 goals already in this 2024/25 LaLiga season, as well as in every fixture so far.
Lewandowski & Lamine Yamal irrepressible
Two attackers are shining bright for the blaugranes in Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal. The LaLiga "Pichichi" (top scorer) and the La Liga player of the month for September respectively have had 18 goal involvements since the start of the league season, well ahead of any other duo in the five major European leagues. Let's not forget that the Polish striker also scored last season in both games against Alavés.
Positive precedents at the Mendizorroza stadium
Recent away days in Vitoria have seen the blaugranes set a positive trend in terms of results. Prior to that, however, Barça's record when playing Alavés at their home ground wasn't great, as they only came away victorious in four out of the first 11 games played.
Barça have remained unbeaten at home since 2001 against Alavés. A 2-0 scoreline preceded an unbeaten run of three draws and six wins. The victories were almost consecutive, with only a one-all draw in the 2020/21 season in the middle.
Only one win for Luis García against Barça
The current coach of the Basque side, Luis García Plaza, has a record of one win in 10 games against Barça. The Madrilenian experienced eight defeats and one draw in the others. The win came when he was managing Getafe (1-0 in the 2011/12 season).
32 players have donned both jerseys
Many players have featured for both sides, but none are in either of the current squads. You have to go back to the 2017/18 season for the most recent examples in Bojan Krkic and Munir El Haddadi. Other notable names include José Arana (the first player ever to swap shirts, during the 1934/35 season), Alexanco, Zubizarreta, Jordi Cruyff, Ernesto Valverde and Julio Salinas.