Barcelona looks to return to its winning ways when it welcomes Alaves to the Camp Nou on Saturday in La Liga play. Barca is in first place in the league with the tiebreaker over rival Real Madrid, but Los Blancos have drawn back to back matches. A draw last weekend at Real Sociedad was followed by that 0-0 draw in El Clasico against rival Real Madrid. It was the first scoreless draw between the two since 2002. 

Barca should have no trouble getting a win here against an Alaves team that is in 14th place and just five points from the drop zone.

Here's how you can watch the match and what to know:

Barcelona vs. Alaves

  • Date: Saturday, Dec. 21
  • Time: 10 a.m. ET
  • Location: Camp Nou
  • TV channel: beIN Sports
  • Streaming: fuboTV (Try for free)

Storylines

Barcelona: Barca is coming off a game where the team failed to score, and it's rare for them to go back to back games without finding the net. Expect plenty of goals and for Ernesto Valverde's side to score early. Also keep an eye on whether Sergio Busquets plays. The midfielder missed El Clasico with what Valverde said was a fever.

Alaves: The relegation concerns aren't too serious at this point as they have a bit of a buffer, but one point from the last nine and a tricky upcoming schedule could see them closer to the danger zone before long. Games on the road against big teams are the ones where a draw can be huge for momentum going forward. We'll likely see Alaves play very defensive against the Barca attack and try to keep this as long scoring as possible.

Prediction

Barcelona star Lionel Messi scores two as the hosts win easily. Pick: Barcelona 3, Alaves 0.