Barcelona Seeks Recovery Against Alaves as Atletico Visits Levante

Barcelona will host Alaves on Saturday evening in the 11th round of La Liga, seeking to return to winning ways after suffering consecutive defeats. Hansi Flick's side dropped points in El Clasico following a 2-1 loss to Real Madrid, and also fell 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

The Catalan club currently sits at the top of the table with 27 points from 10 matches, but defensive injuries are mounting. With Xavi Espart sidelined, Flick has only four natural defenders available in his squad, though Frenkie de Jong could potentially return to the starting lineup.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid will travel to face Levante in the afternoon fixture. Diego Simeone's men have secured six consecutive victories since their defeat in Bilbao and can temporarily claim first place with a win. However, the fixture at the Ciutat de Valencia historically presents a challenge, as the last three encounters there ended in draws.

Atletico will be missing Koke, who has returned to training but is not yet ready, while Cristian Romero and Morten Hjulmand completed a full training session and are expected to make the squad. Real Madrid will visit Racing Santander on Sunday, while other weekend fixtures include Villarreal against Espanyol and Rayo Vallecano hosting Celta Vigo.