Alaves vs Barcelona live football streaming: Watch 2017-18 La Liga match online, on TV

Things are currently not going very smooth at FC Barcelona, to be honest. While the signing of Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund on Friday could have made the Barca fans a bit content, fact is the inability to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool is making the club quite uneasy.

Various reports have also come in that even Lionel Messi could make a sensational exit from Barcelona. While we expect these kind of stories to dominate the newspapers as we head towards the transfer deadline day in six days from now, Barcelona should not afford to lose their focus from capitalising on wins in the La Liga, early on.

After starting the 2017-18 Spanish league season with a 2-0 win against Real Betis, the Catalan giants take on Deportivo Alaves on Saturday August 26. 

Dembele, who was signed for a fee that could rise to 147m euros (£135.5m), as per the BBC, will not play any part in the match as he is yet to be presented as a Barcelona player at Camp Nou. New signing Paulinho could however make his debut on Saturday, provided coach Ernesto Valverde finds him match fit enough.

The return of Andres Iniesta is a bright news for the Barcelona team but it is unlikely the Spanish midfield veteran will get immediately drafted to the starting XI, considering the recent good performances by Sergio Roberto, Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets.

In the forward line, Lionel Messi will reprise his role like he has always done. With his strike partner Luis Suarez out with a knee injury, Paco Alcácer and Gerard Deulofeu are likely to return as Messi's other strike partners for the match.

Expected starting XI

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Roberto; Deulofeu, Messi, Alcácer

Alaves: Pacheco; Vigaray, Alexis, Ely, Pedraza; T.Pina, M.García; Ibai Gómez, Romero, Burgui; Sobrino

Match schedule

• Date: August 26
• Time: 6:15 pm CET (5:15 pm BST, 9:45 pm IST)
• Venue: Mendizorroza, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country

Where to watch live

Radio commentary: Radio Barca