Spanish La Liga, 18th round. Barcelona somewhat unexpectedly comes into this match after two consecutive draws (against Real Sociedad and Real Madrid). Valuable points were lost, and now the team, with 36 points, shares the first place in the standings with Real Madrid. Meanwhile, Alaves, with 19 points, currently occupies the 14th place and has not been showing good performance, especially recently.
This season has not been very easy for Barcelona so far. Although they hold the first place in the league and also topped their group in the Champions League, the team occasionally faces difficulties in winning matches. This is reflected in the recent draws. Since there is now a break in the Champions League and after the upcoming match against Alaves, the Christmas holidays in La Liga will also begin, the team can give their all in this match. An important factor is that the match is played at Barcelona's fortress, Camp Nou, so we have no doubt that the team will want to delight their fans before Christmas. The hosts have shown a really good offense this season – scoring 43 goals in 17 matches, but sometimes there are gaps in defense, and the team has already conceded 20 goals. Playing at home, Barca looks even better and has scored 30 goals in 8 meetings. The situation is quite different for Alaves. The team has many problems in offense, especially when playing away. In 8 matches, they have conceded 19 goals and scored only 7. Knowing this information, we predict that Barcelona's defense will have an easier match, and the offense will be able to shine in all its glory. Arthur and Dembele will miss the match for Barca, and Pina will not help Alaves, so there are no new injuries in either team.
So, Spanish La Liga, the last round before the Christmas holidays. We believe that in this match, Barcelona will delight their fans and achieve a convincing victory. Alaves does not seem to pose significant problems for Barca's defense or be dangerous in offense. Here we predict a Barcelona victory by at least a three-goal margin. Good luck and enjoy the match.
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