Alaves vs Deportivo La Coruna
Spanish La Liga 2016/17
Date: Monday, 20 September 2016
Kick-Off: 01:45 GMT+7
Venue: Mendizorrotza, Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Alaves stunned the Camp Nou last weekend by beating Barcelona 2-1. For a side that is appearing in the top flight for the first time in a decade that was some achievement and given they’ve also already visited the Vicente Calderon, it’s almost miraculous that they still boast an unbeaten record. They’ve shown they can cut it when their backs are against the wall but a 0-0 draw in their opening home game against Sporting Gijon wasn’t quite what they were after. They didn’t score a lot of goals in the Segunda Division last term and although their side has changed considerably since then, there are still some doubts about how they will break down the more cautiously-minded teams.
This will be a good test of that as Deportivo La Coruna are unlikely to come here and commit a huge number of bodies forward. They had a bad end to the summer transfer window really with star striker Lucas Perez, who was involved in the majority of their goals last season, departing and little coming in to replace him. They beat Eibar 2-1 on the opening day with Perez in the side and on the score-sheet but have failed to find the net since. A 0-0 draw at Real Betis and 1-0 home defeat against Athletic Bilbao has followed and they are being talked about as serious relegation candidates.
It’s hard to see there being many
goals in this game. Alaves’ only home game and Depor’s only away game so far both finished 0-0 and you have to wonder where these teams are going to get their goals from. Deyverson netted for Alaves at Barcelona last weekend but was a bit hit and miss for Levante last term while for Depor the new-look striker partnership of Joselu and Florin Andone may take time to gel.
Therefore it’s likely at least one of the sides here will fire blanks and backing Both Teams to Score – NO at 3/4 might be the way to go.
Alaves vs Deportivo La Coruna: Head-to-Head Stats
The latest meeting between the two sides can be dated back to the Segunda Division clash of the 2013/14 season. Deportivo were unbeaten in the two fixtures with a 2-1 win at home and a 1-1 draw in their trip to Mendizorrotza.
Alaves are unbeaten in the last two league meetings against Deportivo with a win and a draw. The last 7 home matches of against Deportivo saw them winning 4 times with 1 draw and 2 losses.
Deportivo have only won once in the last 4 meetings against Alaves across all venues since 2006.
Alaves vs Deportivo La Coruna: Prediction
Alaves will be high on confidence coming into this game after two results against two top three teams in the league. They also have a fully fit squad at their disposal and this will put them as slight favourites on paper to edge a win on Monday.
Deportivo’s performance in their first three matches are satisfactory. But they could be without four key players for this matches. Joselu and Sidnei da Silva are injured, while the experience Bruno Gama and Fernando Navarro are major doubts. And this could dent their chances in an evenly poised fixture.
Alaves vs Deportivo La Coruna: Bet Tips
Double Chance – Alaves/Draw at 1.33 (1/3)
Over 1.5 goals at 1.44 (4/9).
