I was sitting on my couch yesterday thinking about this weekend’s Barcelona match against Alaves. Wanted to know if we could expect an easy win or another stressful game. Grabbed my laptop and started digging into their recent history.
First Step: Hunting Down the Numbers
Started by checking football stats sites. Man what a headache! Every site showed different numbers at first glance. Had to cross-reference like five different sources to spot the patterns. Wrote down every single Barca vs Alaves result from 2020 onward in my notepad app.
- Noticed Barça won four of the last five home games against Alaves
- But that one loss in 2021 still stings – 1-2 at Camp Nou!
- Alaves actually beat us twice in last six meetings overall
Surprised me how often this “easy” fixture gave us trouble. Made a coffee while scratching my head over that.
Checking Current Form
Next looked how both teams been playing lately. Big difference here:
- Barça’s last five matches: W W D L W
- Alaves rocking five straight losses before last week
Showed my wife the stats and she said “So Barca should smash them?” Had to explain football doesn’t work like that – especially after seeing Alaves finally won last weekend against Sevilla. Momentum’s tricky.
Putting It All Together
Sat there comparing the head-to-head stats against current form. My gut says 3-1 Barcelona win but those past upsets make me nervous. Alaves always parks the bus and counters hard against us.
Ended up writing two versions of my prediction tweet: one confident, one cautious. Still haven’t decided which to post. Might flip a coin before matchday. Stats don’t tell the whole story but damn they help manage expectations!