Alaves vs Valencia Preview: Team News & Prediction
by Alex Lawes ·
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Deportivo Alaves have started the 2026-27 La Liga season well as they now welcome a struggling Valencia side to the Mendizorrozza to the Basque Country.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Premier Sports / USA – ESPN have the exclusive rights to La Liga games in the USA, so any game may be televised on one of their affiliated channels
How to watch online: UK – Premier Player / USA – ESPN+
Alaves preview: Entertaining Alaves
At the back end of last season, former Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores propelled Deportivo Alaves clear of the bottom three and the relegation places with an entertaining style and their form and style has continued into this season, too.
Alaves collected ten points from their opening four matches but they did succumb to a 2-1 loss to newly-promoted Racing Santander at El Sardinero at the weekend in a game in which they did take an early lead in Cantabria.
Valencia preview: Struggling Valencia
At the time of writing, former West Bromwich Albion boss Carlos Corberan remains in the dugout at Mestalla but Valencia are circling the drain, as they have been for a while, and they have collected just one point from their opening five games.
Their fifth game saw them travel to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan and succumb to a slender 1-0 loss to Sevilla due to an 81st minute winner scored by former Getafe defender Juan Iglesias in Andalusia.
Alaves team news: A few absentees
Alaves are dealing with a few key injury absentees for this weekend with summer signing Mikel Rodriguez now sidelined after an impressive start to his time at Alaves.
Predicted XI (4-4-2): Antonio Sivera; Angel Perez, Tenaglia, Koski, Jonny; Denis Suarez, Pablo Ibanez, Antonio Blanco, Rebbach; Lucas Boye, Mariano
Unavailable: Garces (Injured), Mikel Rodriguez (Injured), Aitor Manas (Concussion)
Questionable:
Valencia team news: Fresh doubts
Valencia have some fresh injury doubts for this midweek trip to Vitoria-Gasleiz as both Cesar Tarrega and Ryunosuke Sato may well be unavailable for the visitors.
Predicted XI (4-4-1-1): Dimitrievski; Pablo Maffeo, De Haas, Pepelu, Jose Luis Gaya; Otorbi, Dieng, Ugrinic, Elliott; Javi Guerra; Danjuma
Unavailable: Copete (Injured), Diakhaby (Injured), Foulquier (Injured), Sergi Canos (Injured), Diego Lopez (Injured)
Questionable: Cesar Tarrega (Injured), Sato (Injured), Rodriguez (Injured), Luis Rioja (Injured)
Alaves vs Valencia prediction
Alaves have been fun to watch this season with their five La Liga games having now consisted of 16 goals with both teams scoring in three of those. Valencia head to Northern Spain in woeful form at the moment and a bad mood both on and off the pitch so siding with Alaves is once again the way to go here as they try and get themselves back on the winning track, too.
Alaves vs Valencia tip: Alaves to win
