FC Barcelona are set to [take on Deportivo Alaves](https://x.com/FCBarcelona/status/2116455145831559419?a=aZ59uJEJ9k-AdvpQTiI&s=20) in La Liga after a rather disappointing week. The Catalan giants have already suffered two defeats in a row prior to this game, but they will want to bounce back with a win here and get all three points.
At the moment, the Catalan giants are stuck in second place in the league following Atletico Madrid’s recent win. However, Barcelona have this game in hand and nothing apart from a win here would be enough to reclaim the top spot again.
**Match details:**
* **Date:** Saturday, 31st October 2026
* **Competition:** La Liga
* **Matchday:** 11
* **Time:** 21:00 (local time)
* **Venue:** Spotify Camp Nou
* **Referee:** Adrian Cordero Vega
**Match overview:**
Yet, following two disappointing performances against PSG and Real Madrid consecutively, Barça need to drastically improve if they want to have a chance of making a difference moving forward. As it stands, the Catalan giants look fatigued and way too predictable.
After all, this is the same team that was on top of the world not too long ago, but their two recent defeats clearly hit them where it hurt. Now, Hansi Flick and his players will need to regroup and assess exactly what they need to do in order to get back to their winning ways.
Across their last five games, Barcelona have won three matches and lost two. While the wins were convincing, it is also clear to see that the losses were extremely revealing as well and exposed Barça’s most exploitable weaknesses.
In terms of goals, La Blaugrana have scored 15 goals in their last five games while conceding nine in return. Those defensive numbers are extremely worrying, and Barcelona will need to sort that issue out as soon as possible.
Their opponents, however, have had struggles of their own and they seem to be in a much more troublesome position right now. Across their last five games, Deportivo Alaves have lost three games and have drawn twice to continue their winless streak.
In terms of the goals, they have scored just three goals while conceding six goals in return. However, it is clear to see that they make it very difficult for opponents to score as well, given that they rarely let them score more than two goals a game.
For that reason, even though [some rotations are expected](https://barcanewsnetwork.com/hansi-flick-plots-radical-barcelona-defensive-reshuffle-amid-four-man-injury-crisis/), Barça will need to be sharp in this game. Unfortunately, they have no more margin of error left and they simply need to get back to firing on all cylinders if they want to retain their La Liga title.