Alaves vs Atletico Madrid: Lookman to end goal drought – Preview, team news, tips, h2h

Alaves vs Atletico Madrid is one of the key games to watch this weekend as the Spanish La Liga returns for action after the September-October international break.

Ademola Lookman arrives at the Mendizorrotza with a personal number to put right. The Super Eagles forward has started six of Atlético Madrid’s seven La Liga matches this season but has found the net only once, in the 3-1 win at Sevilla back in August. Saturday’s trip to Vitoria-Gasteiz offers him a fresh chance against a Deportivo Alavés side missing three first-choice centre-backs.

Diego Simeone’s side sit second in La Liga, five points behind leaders Barcelona, and go into Matchday 8 full of confidence after beating Real Madrid 2-1 in their last outing.

Alavés, sixth on eleven points, have not won in their last two league games and will be without the injured trio of Facundo Garcés, Mikel Rodríguez and Ville Koski.

The timing adds extra intrigue. Atlético host Manchester United in the Champions League four days later, so Simeone must balance Saturday’s assignment against a genuine rotation risk heading into a bigger European test.

Alaves vs Atletico Madrid: Match radar

Form and context: Alavés vs Atlético Madrid head into Matchday 8

Atlético have won four of their last five league matches, including a comprehensive four-nil win over Osasuna, with their only blemish a three-nil defeat at Athletic Club on September 19.

Two of their three away games in that stretch produced wins, at Real Sociedad and at Sevilla, so the Athletic Club result stands out as the exception rather than a pattern on the road.

Alavés, by contrast, have won only one of their last three matches, losing one-nil at home to Valencia and two-one away at Racing Santander after an impressive five-two win over Osasuna in which Lucas Boyé scored a hat-trick.

Alavés are not solely reliant on Boyé for goals. Mariano Díaz has three goals and three assists from only three starts, and Ángel Pérez has added three assists of his own, giving Sánchez Flores attacking options beyond his senior striker despite the problems at the back.

Ademola Lookman’s Atlético have their own supporting cast. Jonathan David has scored three goals from only two starts, and Alexander Sørloth is back in training after a calf problem, though he has yet to feature this season. So Simeone has reinforcements waiting even before Baena and Lookman, one of Nigeria’s top earners, are considered.

The gulf in form shows on the table too. Atlético sit second with sixteen points from seven games, five adrift of leaders Barcelona, while Alavés occupy sixth spot on eleven points.

Head-to-head: Alavés vs Atlético Madrid through the years

Alavés have lost only once at home to Atlético in the last two seasons, a two-nil scoreline in April 2024 that remains their sole win in the sequence. Two draws, one-one in August 2025 and nil-nil in May 2025, also came at the Mendizorrotza, while Atlético’s two wins in the five-game run, including the most recent one-nil success in January, were both recorded at home in Madrid.

Historically, Atlético hold the clear upper hand with 34 league meetings producing 20 wins for the Madrid side against seven for Alavés and seven draws, though that record stretches back decades and says little about Saturday’s specific matchup. The Mendizorrotza record over the last two seasons is the more useful guide, and it tells a far more even story than the all-time figures suggest.

Team news: Lookman starts as Atlético manage fitness doubts

Lookman is expected to keep his place in attack after his recent run of starts, though Simeone’s team-news sheet this week carries more question marks than usual.

Both Grimaldo and Lee Kang-in are named in Rotowire’s projected XI despite their fitness doubts, so a late call before kickoff cannot be ruled out.

Alaves vs Atletico Madrid: Star player comparison

Both sides arrive with their top scorer in red-hot form, even if their paths to four league goals have looked very different this season.

Boyé has needed fewer minutes to reach his tally, while Baena has carried more creative responsibility for Atlético, adding an assist Boyé has yet to register this season.

Alaves vs Atletico Madrid: The managers – Sánchez Flores vs Simeone

Quique Sánchez Flores took charge of Alavés on March 3, replacing Gastón Coudet after the Argentine left to take over at River Plate, and arrives at Matchday 8 with just over seven months in the job.

Diego Simeone, by contrast, has managed Atlético since December 2011, a reign approaching fifteen years that makes him one of the longest-serving coaches in European football and has shaped the club’s identity around intensity and a compact defensive block. Sánchez Flores previously managed in the Premier League with Watford, giving him rare first-hand experience of English football among La Liga’s current coaches.

Tactical preview: How Alavés vs Atlético Madrid could be won

With key centre-back options sidelined by injury, Sánchez Flores is likely to stick with the back five used against Athletic Club, pairing Jonny, Nahuel Tenaglia and Nicolás Valentini across the three central roles, ceding possession and looking to break through Rebbach and Pérez in the wide channels.

Atlético, with Baena operating as the link between midfield and attack, tend to press higher when a side builds from its own centre-backs, a pattern that could trouble an Alavés back line forced to adapt to unfamiliar partnerships.

In behind, Lookman and Lee Kang-in offer pace in transition, the kind of outlet Simeone may lean on if Alavés commit numbers forward chasing an equaliser.

The Naija slip: Alavés vs Atlético Madrid betting tips

Score prediction