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Almeria host Deportivo Alaves in their Copa del Rey round-of-32 fixture at the Estadio Mediterráneos on Saturday.
The hosts, third in the Segunda Division, secured a date with Deportivo Alaves after overcoming Numancia in their second-round fixture. They scored an injury-time winner to come back from behind.
The visitors are 16th in La Liga and earned a place in this round with a 1-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna in the second round.
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Almeria vs Deportivo Alaves Head-to-Head
The two sides have squared off 12 times across all competitions. El Glorioso have recorded six wins over their Andalusian rivals, who have three wins to their name.
Three meetings between the two clubs have ended in a stalemate, including a 1-1 draw in their last encounter in the Segunda Division in 2016.
Almeria form guide across all competitions: W-W-L-W-W
Deportivo Alaves form guide across all competitions: L-W-L-D-W
Almeria vs Deportivo Alaves Team News
Almeria
As things stand, manager José Manuel Gomes does not have any injury or suspension concern heading into the cup tie.
Their league game against Leganes was postponed due to poor weather conditions. This gave the players some much-needed rest ahead of the knockout fixture.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Deportivo Alaves
Newly-appointed manager Abelardo Fernández will have to make the trip to Andalusia without the services of Rodrigo Ely. The defender underwent knee surgery and is in recovery.
Fortunately, suspensions from La Liga do not carry into cup ties, so defender Alberto Rodríguez will be available for selection here.
Injured: Rodrigo Ely
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Almeria vs Deportivo Alaves Predicted XI
Almeria Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Giorgi Makaridze; Aitor Buñuel, Chumi, Mathieu Peybernes, Sergio Akieme; Radosav Petrović, César de la Hoz; Largie Ramazani, Lucas Robertone, Fran Villalba; Juan Villar
Deportivo Alaves Predicted XI (4-4-2): Fernando Pacheco; Martín Aguirregabiria, Victor Laguardia, Florian Lejeune, Ruben Duarte; Edgar Mendez, Rodrigo Battaglia, Manu Garcia, Luis Rioja; Joselu, John Guidetti
Almeria vs Deportivo Alaves Prediction
Cup ties are about how you perform on the day, but current form cannot be overlooked. The hosts have been in better form at both ends of the pitch than the visitors and we believe they can get the better of struggling Alaves.
We predict a narrow win for the Segunda Division side, given their better goal-scoring touch and home advantage.
Prediction: Almeria 1-0 Deportivo Alaves
