Alaves vs. Barcelona: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info

Barcelona travel to Alaves for their second game of the 2017-18 La Liga campaign on Saturday and will hope to maintain new manager Ernesto Valverde's winning start to the league campaign.

The Blaugrana defeated Real Betis 2-0 in their league opener on Sunday but are already second in the standings to champions Real Madrid, who sent a statement with a convincing 3-0 victory at Deportivo La Coruna.

Alaves succumbed to a 6-0 hammering in this fixture last season and are looking to avoid back-to-back losses after they suffered a 1-0 defeat in their journey to Leganes last Friday.

Both teams have room for improvement heading into Week 2 of the campaign, but Barca are sure to be tested by a team that lost only four times on home soil last season.

Read on for a preview of Saturday's fixtures, complete with the latest team news and viewing information.

Date: Saturday, August 26

Time: 5:15 p.m. BST/12:15 p.m. ET

Venue: Mendizorrotza Stadium, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

Live Stream: Sky Go app (UK), beIN Sports Connect (U.S.), fuboTV (U.S.)

TV Info: Sky Sports Mix (UK), beIN Sports 3 (U.S.)

Team News

Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta are the big omissions for Barcelona coming into Saturday's contest, with the former facing another four weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury, per Sky Sports News.

Pace Alcacer led a three-pronged attack alongside Lionel Messi and Gerard Deulofeu against Betis, but Goal's Ben Hayward recently hinted at Barca's need to regain their first-class finisher: 

There is more hope that Iniesta could make his comeback from injury against Alaves on Saturday. Reuters reported prior to the season-opener against Betis that he could overcome his thigh injury to feature, and the club will hope to see their midfield star come back in Week 2.

Meanwhile, Rafinha is yet to recover from the knee surgery he underwent in April, although Barcelona will be starting to eye a comeback date for the midfielder.

Alaves' only concerns lie in central defence, with Victor Laguardia still to return from a knee injury he suffered in April.

Preview

The latest leg of Barcelona's evolution will see Valverde's men attempt to break down an opponent that proved tough to beat on their own turf last term, even if a 6-0 win at the Mendizorrotza Stadium in February suggests otherwise.

Neymar's world-record transfer to Paris Saint-Germain has left major questions over personnel and tactics of late, and Spanish daily Marca recently provided evidence to suggest Valverde is experimenting a lot:

Although Alcacer struggled to have a major impact against Betis, one attacking whiz who impressed as part of the new order was winger Gerard Deulofeu, who provided assists for both goals in that 2-0 victory.

Fan account TheBarcelona Podcast pointed to the returned La Masia product as one of the more fruitful figures in that result, although another summer recruit, Nelson Semedo, was also in good form:

Were it not for a missed Manu Garcia penalty, Alaves might have come away from Leganes with a point and a more promising start to their campaign, but manager Luis Zubeldia is now at risk of going two losses for two.

The temptation might be to sit back against domineering opposition and throw men behind the ball, but against a Barcelona team in some disarray of late, Alaves' best chance of a result may be to take the fight to their foes.