Deportivo Alaves vs Atletico Madrid

Estadio Mendizorrotza forms the backdrop for a ‘David vs Goliath’ La Liga clash between Deportivo Alaves and Atletico Madrid. 

A potentially invaluable 1-0 victory over Basque rivals Real Sociedad last week lifted Alaves above Las Palmas and out of the La Liga drop zone. Head coach Eduardo Coudet is now eyeing consecutive wins for the first time since taking charge in December, buoyed by the fact that El Glorioso have won their last two H2H home clashes against Atlético Madrid ‘to nil.’ They haven’t recorded three successive H2H home wins since 2002 but showed they’re capable of troubling Atleti earlier this season, having dropped the lead in a tight 2-1 defeat in Madrid. However, there’s a note of caution as only two sides have earned fewer home points than Alaves’ 19, with just rock-bottom Valladolid (10) netting fewer than their 12 home goals.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid put Rayo Vallecano to the sword last week (3-0) to consolidate their position in third place, providing a perfect response to a gut-wrenching 1-0 loss to Las Palmas on their most recent road trip. However, a ten-point deficit to runaway leaders Barcelona renders their La Liga title hopes dead in the water, leaving the FIFA Club World Cup later in the summer as their final chance to add to their trophy cabinet this season. Defensive resilience has been crucial to Atletico’s decent away record, with no La Liga team conceding fewer road goals than Diego Simeone’s side (13). That said, Los Colchoneros have only won once in their last four away league fixtures (D1, L2).