Alaves square off against Granada in La Liga soccer action from the Estadio Mendizorrolza on Wednesday afternoon.
Alaves come into this match in 16th place on 35 points with a record of 9 wins, 8 draws and 15 losses following a 3rd straight loss in the form of a 2-1 loss to Atletico Madrid in their last game. In the loss to Atletico, The first half saw no scoring but each side received a booking. The second half had Atletico open the scoring just before the hour mark and double their lead from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute. Alaves got on the board in the 3rd minute of second-half stoppage time when Joselu scored a penalty, but it was too little too late as Atletico held on for the win. Lucas Perez leads Alaves in scoring with 11 goals along with 5 assists while Joselu has 10 goals on the year. Fernando Pacheco is Alaves’ starting goalkeeper, conceding 1.37 goals per 90 minutes with 6 clean sheets in 27 league appearances this season.
Granada on the other hand, come into this one in 10th place on 43 points with a record of 12 wins, 7 draws and 13 losses following a 2-1 defeat against Eibar in their last game. In the loss to Eibar, Granada fell behind in the 16th minute as the lone act of the first half, but Roberto Soldado would tie the game for Granada in the 48th minute. Eibar would retake the lead in the 69th and despite Granada holding 62% possession in the second half with 10 attempts at goal and 5 shots on target, Granada would be unable to find an equalizing goal, leaving the match empty-handed. Carlos Fernandez leads Granada in scoring with 7 goals on the year while Darwin Machis has 6 goals and Soldado has a team-high 4 assists this season. Rui Tiago leads Granada in goal, giving up 1.1 goals per 90 minutes with 11 clean sheets in 30 league appearances this season.
I’ve had a hard time splitting these two teams apart, as neither are in a good run of form right now, like at all. However, while Alaves has lost three straight league matches coming into this one, they did hang tough against Atletico Madrid and their one win since the restart came at home. Granada’s drawn both of their games on the road since the restart, but I don’t think they’ll be as lucky here. Alaves is the more desperate team based on their standing in the table and the home team’s won all three head-to-head meetings between the two sides. This isn’t a game I’m rushing to bet, but I’ll side with Alaves on the ML for the win here.