Barcelona - Alavés summary: score, goals, highlights, LaLiga 2023-24

What next for Barcelona and Alavés?

Club soccer takes a break as the international game takes centre stage over the next couple of weeks. 

Barça's next game sees them travel to Rayo Vallecano on Saturday 25 November, while Alavés host Granada 24 hours earlier. 

Alavés remain five points clear of relegation zone

Alavés probably wouldn't have expected to take anything from today's game, although they'll be hugely disappointed having had opportunities to go 2-0 up. The remain five points clear of the bottom three and have more "winnable" games coming up. 

Barcelona move back to within two points of Real Madrid, four of Girona

Barcelona really need those three points, especially with an international break coming up. Xavi's men remain just a couple of points behind Real Madrid, who they will still expect to be their main challengers for LaLiga, and four adrift of surprise leaders Girona.

Their ninth win of the season, although it won't be their most memorable one. 

Robert Lewandowski breaks goal drought in Barça victory

Lewandowski hadn't scored in six games before today, but he's back among the goals just at the right time for Barcelona.

Xavi's side are going to have to play a lot better than that if they want to achieve anything of note this season. 

Full-time: Barcelona 2-1 Alavés

Very, VERY hard work for Barcelona! But they've got the three points they were after. 

Hagi hangs it high into the box and the flag goes up before the ball is bundled wide, seemingly off Romeu's hand...

Last chance saloon for Alaves! A late free-kick...

Tenaglia wires wide!

A brave effort from the away team! Tenaglia tries his luck from long range and the ball flashes just past ter Stegen's post. Close!

García close to equalising!

Tenaglia flashes the ball across goal, García gets a touch and it's deflected just over! 

Barça comfortably deal with the corner. 

Five minutes of injury time to come. 

Alavés are pushing their defence right up and Lewandowski and Torres have both come inches away from breaking the offside trip, with Barça trying to put the game to bed. 

Alavés are giving it a bit of a go here in the last few minutes (as they should do, admittedly). 

Alavés sub Kike García has just seen a deflected shot kept out by ter Stegen's feet, with the offside flag going up a few second later. 

Mendes and Tenaglia on. 

Gorosabel and Blanco off. 

Alaves' last throw of the dice. 

Cancelo drives forward from right-back, where he's been playing since Balde came on, and very nearly plays a perfect through-ball for Raphinha, which is only just intercepted. 

Ferran looks to be in a third but a poor touch allows Sivera to collect. Oh, and he was offside too. 

Romeu on for Pedri.

Right, Alavés. What have you got?

Hagi and García on. 

Omorodion and Guridi off. 

No goalkeeper was ever saving that!

Lewandowski to take...

No need for VAR, for once. 

Clear cut. Abqar chopped Ferran Torres down. Has to be a penalty. 

PENALTY FOR BARCELONA!

Torres went down!

Alaves' Duarte has been booked, by the way, for catching Pedri late. 

Raphinha lines one up from long range but it flies well, well over the bar. 

There's not been much in the way of controlled possession for Barcelona in this game, although they are starting to have a bit now. 

Yamal has been very quiet so far but a moment of magic seems him drift inside Duarte and fire a low shot goalwards, which Sivera does well to keep out!

Torres and Balde replace Félix and Koundé. 

Alavés ARE back in this! Abde races away down the left and outpaces the entire Barça defence but can only drive the ball across the face of goal, with none of his teammates able to keep up. 

All of sudden, Alavés have come back into this. First, Omorodion should tee up Blanco for a strike at goal but takes one touch too many. Then, Abde almost gets on the end of a dangerous ball into the box. 

Alavés' first second-half threat!

Alavés almost re-take the lead!

Duarte curls a free-kick into the box and Koundé almost has another nightmare but just manages to get the ball away from Abqar before he can shoot from just a few yards out. 

Raphinha replaces Fermín for the hosts. 

Abde on Rioja for the visitors. 

Lewandowski clips Blacno from behind and gets the first yellow card of the game, which seems a little harsh...

We've seen absolutely nothing from Alavés in attack in the second half.

I said in the first half Félix had been the liveliest of the hosts' attacker, but he's not been on his A-game either. Another pretty poor effort goes well wide from the Portuguese. 

Lewandowski caps Barça improvement

For some reason, I generally don't tend to think of headers as great goals, but this one is an exception. Some serious neck muscle action from Lewandowski. 

Félix is next to have a go after a driving run from Cancelo but gets his shot horribly wrong, not threatening Sivera's goal. 

It's hard on Alavés, who were great in the first half. But this looks to be a totally different Barcelona now. 

It's another cross but this time it's a good one! Koundé curls it right into the head of Lewandowski, who has plenty of work to do to get it on target but does it brilliantly!

What a header!

This is so much better from the hosts. Cancelo gets round the outside of Gorosabel and whips a brilliant ball across the face of goal, which nobody has gambled on. 

So. Much. Better. 

Barcelona penalty claim!

Barça want a penalty after Yamal goes down under the challenge of Duarte. After some pushing and shoving, nothing is ultimately given. 

This second half is already shaping up to be entirely different to the first. Félix runs at the Alavés defence at pace and Fermín's shot is blocked with Lewandowski also queuing up to have a go. 

Cancelo shot saved!

An early effort from Cancelo from the edge of the box, which Sivera deals with comfortably. 

Araújo goes right through Omorodion, fairly, I should add, which Barcelona didn't do once in the first half.

In 90 seconds, I'd say there's already been a bit more urgency from the hosts...

Second half underway!

Barcelona surely can't be any worse in the second half...

Barcelona could remain five points behind Real Madrid

...and seven points behind leaders Girona. They need to wake up here. 

Barcelona slow starters

Two of the three first-minute goals scored in LaLiga this season have been conceded by Barcelona (away to Granada was the other).

By contrast, Xavi's side have regularly fount the net in the last 15 minutes, so this is a long way from being over. 

Half time: Barcelona 0-1 Alavés

Well, well, well, what a first half. Alavés fully deserve to be ahead and will feel they should be further in front considering the chances they have created.

Samu Omorodion has been the key figure of the first half, rounding off a smooth counter-attack after just 20 seconds before missing two other clear-cut chances to give his team a more commanding lead. The big striker has given the Barcelona defence a torrid time, with Jules Koundé moved out of his way by Xavi. 

Alavés have defended in numbers and broken forward quickly on the counter-attack, while Barça look to be going through the motions and lacking in ideas. Cross after cross after cross had gone into the visitors’ penalty area, seemingly in hope rather than expectation.

Robert Lewandowski did have one good opportunity to level but was denied by a fine stop from Antonio Sivera, who must’ve imagined he would have more work to do.

Barça simply have to do better if they are to get back into this. Alavés will be hoping for more of the same.

Half-time: Barcelona 0-1 Alavés

Whistles from the fans follow the referee's whistle. Alavés well worth their half-time lead!

So close to a defence-splitting pass from Gündogan! Félix looks as if he's going to be put clean through until Gorosabel get his foot in the way at the last second. 

One minute of injury time. 

Gündogan crosses to the back post and - guess what? - it goes out for a goal kick. Are they doing this on purpose now? 

Lewandowski almost managed to feed the ball through for Félix, who is again well covered by Gorosabel and Abqar. 

I've lost count of how many crosses Barcelona have put into the box. I've not counted many good ones, though. 

Pretty abject from Barcelona at both ends of the field so far. 

Another cross, this time from Yamal, is massively overhit and goes behind for a goal kick for Alavés. 

Xavi's decision to move Araújo inside has already paid dividends as he wins his first aerial challenge with Omorodion. 

Cancelo floats a cross up to the far post...and way over the head of everyone in the box. 

Koundé and Araújo have switched positions, with the Uruguayan now directly up against Omorodion. Not a great sign for the Frenchman...

The hosts have resorted to claiming for penalties half-heartedly. Félix, Lewandowski and Yamal have all gone down in the box in the last few moments, but there's nothing doing.  

Barcelona, and I can't stress this enough, have been a disaster at the back. 

Koundé had a yard head-start on Omorodion, who brushes him off the ball and creates a clear-cut chance for himself. Again, that should be 2-0! 

Did Koundé go too big on the birthday celebrations last night? He's been really poor. 

Omorodion shoots inches over!

It clipped the bar on the way over and it was another nightmare for Koundé!

Guevera manhandles Pedri in midfield but gets away with it, but it shows the defensive work the Alavés midfield are doing. There's been little of that from the hosts so far. 

I'd genuinely forgotten Lamine Yamal was playing. He finally picks up possession on the right and runs at Duarte, thinking he's won a corner. No such luck - goal kick. 

Bizarre from Lewandowski...

Félix plays a low pass into the striker, who is only a few yards out by opts to dummy it...to nobody in particular. 

The only dummy there, I'm afraid, was the Barça striker. 

Félix tests Sivera

Félix, who looks the most lively of Barcelona's attackers, cuts insides and shoots, forcing Sivera into another low save!

Martínez touches the ball with his hand inside the box as Omorodion tried to control it. There wasn't much he could've done to get out of the way but it's just as well he was there, as the Alavés striker would have had another sight of goal. 

Big chance missed by Fermín!

Pedri's cross to the back post is missed by the away defence and reaches Fermín, who takes and touch but prods wide under pressure from Sivera. 

A good opening for Barça!

López shoots wide for Alavés!

A huge mistake from Koundé (birthday or not) in the box gives López the opportunity to shoot, which he does. He doesn't quite catch it cleanly and it bobbles wide of ter Stegen's goal. 

It's incredible how easy it is for Alavés to feed the ball into Omorodion's feet, even inside the box.

Cancelo gets forward again down the left and crosses to the far post, with the ball just evading everyone and drifting wide of the post. 

Sivera saves from Lewandowski!

Barça best moment of the half! Gündogan dinks the ball in behind for Lewandowski, who takes a touch and smashes the ball low, with Sivera making a fine block. 

Will Alavés live to regret that miss?

Alavés are getting in behind Barcelona with ease here. 

That should've been 2-0! Without doubt! Omorodion gets in behind Martínez and has an age to pick his spot, only to shoot wide!

WHAT A CHANCE FOR OMORODION!

He was clean through...!

Another chance for Omorodion to run at Koundé, who lets him travel a long way with the ball but eventually nabs it off him just before he reaches the box. A vital tackle, with nobody covering behind. 

Barcelona's first effort

Félix is surrounded by green shirts but darts through them in the box and fires in a low shot, which is easily saved by Sivera. 

A few whistles ringing round Estadi Olímpic Lluis Companys...

Almoat a second for Omorodion!

Barcelona are incredibly lax...The ball is fed into the box to Omorodion once again and he is allowed to turn and shoot, his effort hitting the side netting. 

Fermín is very lucky to not see an early yellow card after lashing out at Guevara, who had stolen the ball off him in midfield. 

Cancelo skips away down the left and his low cross is blocked by an Alavés hand.The Barça man wants a penalty but it was outside the box and there was little Gorosabel could have done about it. 

Barcelona's week goes from bad to worse...

Alavés scored after 20 seconds!

20 seconds that took...

Barça loses possession in the Alavés half and the visitors break swiftly upfield under no pressure at all. They work it left to Javi López, whose low cross is turned in by Omorodion. Unbelievable!

Barcelona kicked off too...

Underway at Montjuïc!

Off we go!

Moments away from kick-off...are you ready?!

Barcelona Femení's Aitana Bonmatí shows off Ballon d'Or

Messi won the men's Ballon d'Or at the end of October, Barça's Aitana Bonmatí won the women's. 

What a player. Messi's not bad either. 

LALIGA EA SPORTS

Why is Gavi not playing for Barcelona against Alavés in LaLiga?

The eagled-eyed among you will have noticed Gavi's name is missing from the Barça starting XI. He's not injured or on the bench but won't be involved today regardless. 

Joe is here to explain his absence. 

And this is how the visitors will line up in Montjuïc.

Sivera; Gorosabel, Abqar, Marín, Duarte; López, Guevara; Guridi, Blanco, Rioja; Omorodion.

Barcelona team to play Alavés

Only a few minutes until kick-off! Here's a reminder of the Barcelona team which will start the game. 

Ter Stegen; Araújo, Koundé, Martínez, Cancelo; Fermín, Gündogan, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Félix. 

Cancelo left-back, Araújo right-back for Barça

Barcelona's warm-up seems to confirm my earlier suspicion that Cancelo will indeed start at left-back, with Araújo lining up on the right (unless they are just trying to mislead Alavés and us all). 

Lewandowski's competition for Barça starting role

"Xavi, sign him up, Xavi, Xavi sign him up!"

Robert Lewandowski hasn't scored for Barcelona in six matches. Maybe there will soon be some competition for the Pole for the number 9 jersey? He's also the only recognised striker on the first-team roster, which means he basically has none. 

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Xavi post-match: defeat to Shakhtar “a step backwards” and “one of the worst games in two years”

Barcelona last game was not good, let's just say. The Catalans were beaten by Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday and head coach Xavi Hernández was not at all impressed with his team's performance, just three days after he had also criticised them despite winning away to Real Sociedad. 

Here's what he had to say afterwards.

Alavés: last five games

5 November: Alavés 1-0 Almería (LaLiga)

2 November: Deportivo Murcia 0-10 Alavés (Copa del Rey)

29 October: Atlético Madrid 2-1 Alavés (LaLiga)

22 October: Villarreal 1-1 Alavés (LaLiga)

8 October: Alavés 1-1 Real Betis (LaLiga)

Barcelona's last five games

7 November: Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 Barcelona (Champions League)

4 November: Real Sociedad 0-1 Barcelona (LaLiga)

28 October: Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid (LaLiga)

25 October: Barcelona 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (Champions League)

22 October: Barcelona 1-0 Athletic Club (LaLiga)

Alavés: the 2023-24 season so far

As I mentioned a little earlier, Alavés will have been mentally prepared for a battle to finish above the relegation zone, which is exactly where they find themselves. El Glorioso looked to be in trouble after a run of seven matches without a win between mid-September and the end of October, but last weekend's crucial win over bottom club Almería has moved them five points clear of the bottom three. 

And we shouldn't forget about their 10-0 thrashing of lower league side Deportivo Murcia in the Copa del Rey 10 days ago. That's two wins in a row for the men from Vitoria, a better run that Barça are on... 

Barcelona: the 2023-24 LaLiga season so far

One defeat in 12 LaLiga games sounds like something you should be happy with. The problem is that one defeat came to arch rivals Real Madrid, who have also lost just once but have won more games. And did anyone put any kind of money on Girona opening the season with 11 wins from 13 matches?! Be honest now... A victory today will at least move Barça to within two points of Madrid and four of the league leaders. 

Xavi's side made a fine start to their Champions League campaign, winning each of their first three fixtures. They would've booked their place in the round of 16 with another win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday but ended up losing 1-0 in Hamburg, which has seen the group tighten right up again. 

Barcelona defender Jules Koundé turns 25

It's Jules Koundé's 25th birthday today and it's tempting to say he's dressed up especially for the occasion,

But, no, he always puts on a pre-match show. The Frenchman never lets us down. 

Barcelona dressing room ready at Montjuïc

Is it just me that is bothered by the numbers being all over the place in the Barcelona dressing room?

Aleksandar Sedlar a big miss for Alavés

While Simeone is on the road to recovery from long-term injury, first-choice centre-back Aleksandar Sedlar is at the beginning of his own journey after suffering an ACL tear in last weekend's win over Almería. He is the Basque side's main absentee for the visit to Montjuïc. 

Would Alaves' dads beat Barcelona's dads?

Barcelona are quite clearly favourites to beat Alaves and most will expect them to win comfortably. But I reckon the Alaves players' dads could give the Barcá players' dads the runaround. 

Ianis Hagi (pictured), son of Romanian legend Gheorghe, is on the bench for the visitors, who also have Giuliano Simeone, son of Atlético Madrid boss Diego, on their roster. 

Alavés team to play Barcelona

We can only assume Alavés manager Luis García Plaza is a big wine enthusiast, as Blanco and Rioja both start for the Basque side, as does Real Madrid's on-loan youngster Rafa Marín (no wine connection there). 

Sivera; Gorosabel, Abqar, Marín, Duarte; López, Guevara; Guridi, Blanco, Rioja; Omorodion.

Pedri makes first Barcelona start since August

Much like de Jong, Pedri's recovery from a thigh problem has been pretty frustrating for Barcelona, Xavi and the man himself.

The youngster got injured in training after the second game of the season against Cádiz and wasn't seen again until last weekend's win over Real Sociedad, when he came off the bench in the second half. He was also a sub in midweek against Shakhtar but makes his first start since August against Alavés. 

Barcelona team to play Alavés: Pedri starts after injury

Here's Xavi's XI for the game! Pedri is back in from the start for the first time in what feels like whatever, while teenager Lamine Yamal lines up in attack. It looks as if Cancelo will shift over to left-back, with Ronald Araújo on the right, although we'll have to see how that plays out. 

Ter Stegen; Araújo, Koundé, Martínez, Cancelo; Fermín, Gündogan, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Félix. 

Early Barcelona team news: Gavi suspended

De Jong's continued absence is compounded for this game by the fact that Gavi, another midfielder, is suspended following his yellow card in last weekend's smash-and-grab win away to Real Sociedad. The youngster has already served a ban in the Champions League this season too, which is pretty good going (and probably not all that surprising to many of you...).

Early Barcelona team news: Frenkie de Jong still out injured

Barcelona haven't had their injury troubles to seek of late, although the treatment room has cleared up significantly in the last couple of weeks, with Robert Lewandowski, Jules Koundé, Pedri and Raphinha all back in action.

Xavi Hernánadez had also hoped to have Frenkie de Jong available by now too, by the ankle injury picked up by the midfielder against Celta Vigo in September is proving to be more troublesome than was first thought. He won't play against Alavés but it is hoped he will be back in action right after the international break. 

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Barcelona vs Alavés: times, how to watch on TV, stream online | LaLiga

Still looking for a way to watch today's game? Well, if you're in the United States, you're in luck! There is a way and here are the juicy details courtesy of Fidel. 

You can also watch a Barcelona vs Alavés live stream on fuboTV, which offers a free trial

When will Barça move out of Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys and back to Camp Nou?

Barcelona are, of course, playing at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys until Camp Nou's redevelopment is complete, or at least complete enough to allow 100,000 people inside without it crumbling to the ground. La Blaugrana are expected to play at their home away from home for the entirety of this season and the start of next, with November 2024 pencilled in for their return. 

What time does Barcelona vs Alavés kick-off?

The clash at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys gets underway at 4:15 p.m. local time, which makes it 10:15 a.m. ET and 7:15 a.m. PT. LaLiga for breakfast, anyone?

Over the next 90 minutes or so I’ll be bringing you build-up, team news and plenty more. Let's do this!

How the LaLiga table looks: Alavés

Today's game is, of course, about more than just the home side. It takes two to tango in any soccer match, and Alavés are Barça's partners for this one. It's probably not too much of an exaggeration to suggest that avoiding relegation is usually their main objective in the top flight and they are five points above the relegation zone after a crucial win over bottom team Almería last weekend. 

Picking up points in Montjuïc will be a big ask, but stranger things have most definitely happened in soccer. 

How the LaLiga table looks: Barcelona

You wouldn't have been surprised it somebody had told you the Catalans would be top after 13 matches. You just wouldn't have expected it to be those Catalans.

Despite losing only one of their first 12 matches, Barcelona could really do with a win today to make sure they stay within touching distance of the top two.  

Hello and welcome to Barcelona vs Alavés!

The last few days haven't been too kind to Barcelona.

Xavi Hernández's side were beaten by Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday, missing out on the chance to seal qualification for the round of 16 with two games to spare. Then earlier this weekend, they saw Girona and Real Madrid both win, meaning they have seven and five-point gaps to cut to LaLiga's top two respectively. Can they do it against Alavés?

I'm Roddy and thanks for joining me to find out!