Barcelona go to Deportivo Alavés on Wednesday night with the title already wrapped up and another target still in sight. Fresh from a 2-0 win over Real Madrid in El Clásico on Sunday, they lifted their 29th La Liga title and now head to the Estadio de Mendizorroza with three games left and a chance to reach 100 points.
For Alavés, the stakes are very different. They are in the drop zone, and a home win could lift them as high as 13th, a turnaround that would matter far beyond one night in Vitoria-Gasteiz. The matchup comes in the middle of Barcelona’s celebrations, but it is also one more step in a season that has already delivered back-to-back league titles.
That contrast is what gives this Barca vs meeting its edge. Barcelona arrive as champions and without the urgency that defined Sunday’s El Clásico, yet they still have something to play for in the table and a chance to finish with a round-number benchmark that underlines how dominant the campaign has been. Alavés, by contrast, cannot afford to treat any home fixture as routine while they remain pinned in the relegation fight.
The selection picture is limited for the hosts. Facundo Garcés is suspended and will not play again this season, while Lucas Boyé is the only confirmed player unavailable through injury. Those absences narrow the options for a side that needs points now, not later, and that makes the task even harder against a Barcelona team that has already shown it can close out the biggest matches.
Barcelona’s title was clinched on Sunday with the derby victory over Real Madrid, a result that settled the championship and confirmed the club’s 29th La Liga crown. The next question is not whether they are champions — that part is done — but how far they can push the numbers before the season ends. For Alavés, the question is simpler and harsher: whether they can find enough in this one match to climb away from danger before the calendar runs out.
