FC Barcelona play Deportivo Alavés in the Copa del Rey Final

Barcelona will be hoping to win their only major trophy of the season with a victory against Alavés.

Form

The Catalans go in to this match in great form with six straight wins. These all came in the league, but it wasn’t enough as Real Madrid pipped them to the title on the last day. Alavés also had a good end to the season with a seven game unbeaten run. This meant they finished in ninth place which is impressive considering they got promoted last season.

Squads

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Luis Enrique has a few issues which will affect his team selection for this match. Sergi Roberto and Luis Suárez are both suspended for this match, but they have both picked up injuries so they wouldn’t have been able to play anyway. Jérémy Mathieu and Rafinha are both unavailable due to long-term injury issues. There is a chance that Aleix Vidal could return for this match, after being out with a dislocated ankle for four months, which is a boost for the team. This is also significant due to the absence of Sergi Roberto because playing Vidal there rather than Javier Mascherano would bring more balance to the team.

Alavés have a few players out with injury as well. Rodrigo Ely, Einar Galilea, Víctor Laguardia and Sergio Llamas are all unavailable for this match. Laguardia is the only significant absence out of these four because the rest have been restricted to bit part roles during the season.

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History

Recent history favours Barça because they have won seven of their last ten meetings. However, Alavés’ only win during this period was this season away from home. They were the only team to come away from Camp Nou with three points this season, so they aren’t an easy proposition by any means.

Barcelona did make up for this shock loss by giving Alavés a 6-0 drubbing in the return fixture. In comparison to the rest of the season, this result does seem like an anomaly because they rarely lost by more than a couple of goals. The final is likely to be a much closer affair because it’s a big match, and they are likely to take less risks.

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Playing Style

Mauricio Pellegrino has instilled a defensive solidity to this team which makes them exceptionally hard to break down. This means there is likely to be a clear contrast in playing styles between the two teams in this match. Alavés are likely to sit deep in a defensive block, and they will rely on quick counter-attacks for their attacking opportunities.

They executed this plan to perfection, at the Camp Nou, earlier on in the season. This victory could hinder them in some regards because Barcelona will know what to expect from them. It’s also important to note that Enrique did some excessive squad rotation for that match, because he made six changes, which definitely played a part in the defeat.

The Catalans have the added motivation of it being Enrique’s last game, so they will be hoping to end his three years as manager with another major trophy. Winning the Copa del Rey would also make them consecutive winners for the third year running.

This is a significant occasion for Alavés as well because this is their first Copa del Rey final, and it is only their second ever major final. The other final was a 5-4 loss in the 2001 Uefa Cup against Liverpool, so hopefully this match comes close to this in terms of excitement.

The lack of Suárez, due to suspension, means that Paco Alcácer will have to step up in his place, but a good performance in this match could endear him to the culés.

Lionel Messi could add another accolade to his impressive collection because he needs another two goals in the competition to be on the all-time top ten scorers list for this competition. His creativity along with Neymar and Andrés Iniesta should be enough to ensure Barcelona come away with the trophy.

Prediction: FC Barcelona 3-1 Deportivo Alavés

Predicted Lineup

Javier Mascherano instead of Aleix Vidal is a possibility.