Will Alaves pull away from their fellow promoted team?

After the international break, the ball is finally rolling again at national level. In Spain, the 14th LaLiga matchday kicks off on Friday evening with a relegation clash in the Basque Country. The hosts could gain some breathing space with a home win and move towards mid-table. In the clash between Alaves and Granada, a bet on the home side brings odds of around 1.80. This clear favorite role can be explained by the Andalusians’ weak away performance

The home side have picked up twelve points from their first 13 league games and are 15th in the table, while the visitors currently have just seven points to their name and are second-last. A home win at the Mendizorroza Stadium would put Alaves well ahead of one of their direct rivals. The fact that head coach Luis Garcia’s side have picked up ten of their twelve points at home also speaks in favor of the Blue & Whites’ success. This is one of the reasons why we have the prediction for the home side in our top tips for Alaves v Granada

Friday night’s opener is not a footballing treat, with the top teams not in action until Saturday and Sunday.

Alaves – statistics & current form

After being relegated in the 2021/22 season, the Basques managed a direct return to the top flight last season. Luis Garcia’s team won through via the play-offs. In the promotion final, a penalty in minute 120+9 caused great jubilation. The start to the 2022-23 season also went according to plan, with six points on the board after four points. However, the LaLiga returnees only managed to pick up six points in the following nine games

Only a meagre eleven goals for Alaves

It has already been mentioned that the Basques have picked up ten of their twelve points at home. The home strength at the Mendizorrotza Stadium was already a guarantee for promotion. Only one home game was lost last season. So far this season, Alaves have won all three of their home games, with one draw and two defeats. Even one level higher, home strength is still a big plus point and therefore a clear argument for betting on the home side in Alaves v Granada.

What is striking about the season so far, however, is the lack of goals. Alaves have only scored eleven goals so far (seven at home, four away). With an average of 2.23 goals per game, the Basques are in penultimate place in this statistic. In principle, not many goals are to be expected with these figures, but the top betting tips include the bet that both teams will score at least once on Friday evening. After all, this has been the case in four of the last five league matches.

Prior to the international break, the underdogs had the reigning champions FC Barcelona on the brink of losing a point. Alaves led at half-time with a goal in the first minute, before Lewandowski turned the game around with a brace in the second half (53rd and 78th minute).

Predicted Alaves line-up:

Granada – Statistics & current form

In the 2016/17 season, the Andalusians had even fewer points to their name after 13 matchdays, with just five. At the end of the season, they were bitterly relegated. A scenario that does not seem unlikely in 2023/24 either. Seven points from 13 games is a sheer disappointment and is, for example, 14 points less than three years ago at the same point in the season. Head coach Paco Lopez’s side have only managed one win so far this season – at home to RCD Mallorca on matchday three.

At Granada, goals are guaranteed

The Andalusians have been waiting for a taste of success since August 26, when they even embarrassed themselves to the bone in the Spanish King’s Cup. They suffered a 3-0 defeat against amateur club Arosa SC after an inferior performance. Given the current state of the visitors, a bet on the visitors in the match between Alaves and Granada cannot be justified. The Red & Whites are a particularly welcome guest away from home, with five of their six away games ending in defeat. The only exception was a 3-3 draw against bottom club Almeria.

Speaking of goals – they seem to be guaranteed this season with Lopez’s team. The team currently has a goal difference of 18:30, which equates to no less than 3.69 goals per game. Only bottom club UD Almeria (3.85) have a higher figure in this statistic. Granada have had no fewer than seven games with an over 3.5. The visitors’ situation is made more difficult by the suspension of Bryan Zaragoza. The 22-year-old’s name has recently been in the German media, with RB Leipzig reportedly wanting the five-time goalscorer this season as a replacement for Forsberg.

Zaragoza is one of the few bright spots in a weak season so far. The defense in particular has been shockingly weak and cannot even provide stability with a defensive five-man back line.

Predicted line-up for Granada:

Alaves – Granada head-to-head comparison / H2H record

20 times the Basques from Alaves and the Andalusians from Granada have met. Exactly half of all games ended in a win for the Red & Whites from Granada, Alaves won five times and five other games ended in a draw. In the recent past, this duel has been a guarantee for many goals, because in the last four LaLiga games between Alaves and Granada, the betting tip on an over 2.5 was the right choice in each case. No fewer than 17 goals have been scored in these four games. The last LaLiga duel was in 2021/22, when Granada won both home and away. Last season there was this duel in LaLiga 2 in which Alaves collected four points against Granada (3-1 home win, 1-1 draw)

Alaves – Granada betting tip

Up-and-coming duel in the Basque Country. There is not much sign of the initial euphoria after the direct return to LaLiga for either team, although the situation is even more drastic for the Andalusian visitors, who have been waiting almost three months for a win. Their self-confidence is in the cellar and, in view of their existing weakness on the road, we can’t find any arguments to underline our prediction for Alaves vs Granada

The clear favoritism of the home side is absolutely understandable and one of our three top tips. Our main bet for the match between Alaves and Granada concerns the odds for the over 2.5. A little surprising in view of Alaves’ results this season, but the decisive factor is the rising form curve of the blue and whites (narrow defeat against FC Barcelona) and the many, many goals conceded by the visitors. Three goals are also within the realms of possibility in view of the direct comparison and ensure a stake of five units