A point rescued against Málaga
Deportivo Alavés needed a late-arriving equalizer to avoid a defeat at home to Málaga CF on 23 October. Adrián Niño put Málaga ahead, and Aitor Mañas answered for Alavés to make it 1-1. According to [1], the draw spared the team from a debacle, and the paper described the performance as the worst of the ‘Quique era’, with real problems in possession and in the way the team attacked.
The Málaga camp saw the equalizer differently. Coach Juan Funes complained about the refereeing and said there was a clear foul in the build-up to Alavés’s goal, as [2] reported. The input does not tell us how the officials judged the incident, so it stays a one-sided grievance from the visiting bench. What the record does show is a match in which Alavés were second best for long stretches and took a point more through persistence than through control.
Mañas, Martínez and Boyé in the frame
The most useful individual story is Aitor Mañas. [1] reports that he had suffered a concussion in an earlier match and missed two games. His fitness status is now listed as fit, and he is expected to start again after scoring the equalizer. That is a reasonable expectation: a player who has just returned and scored tends to keep his place, particularly when the rest of the attack struggled to create anything.
The same report points to Toni Martínez and Lucas Boyé as part of the expected attacking line-up. Both entries carry a moderate confidence of 0.7, so they are a lean rather than a certainty. If all three do start, Alavés would field a front line built around a returning scorer and two forwards who will be asked to supply the sharpness that was missing against Málaga. The line-up question matters less than whether the team can string passes together under pressure.
A winless run and a doubt in midfield
The wider picture is less comfortable. Alavés have not won in their last six matches, a streak [1] highlights alongside the draw. The site’s own records show how it has built up: a 0-1 home loss to Valencia CF on 15 September, a 0-0 draw away to Athletic Club on 19 September, a 1-2 home defeat to Club Atlético de Madrid on 10 October, a 1-2 loss away to RC Celta de Vigo on 18 October, and then the Málaga draw. That is two draws and three defeats in the five most recent games listed, with only three goals scored across them.
There is also a small fitness concern. Denis Suárez cut his lip and bled after colliding with the referee in the 83rd minute, according to [3]. He was treated on the sideline and went back on with gauze in his mouth. His status is listed as doubtful, though a cut lip is hardly the kind of injury that usually rules a player out for long. It is worth watching mainly because the team can ill afford to lose creative options.
What it means
The table still looks better than the form. Alavés sit seventh in La Liga with 12 points from 10 played, a record of three wins, three draws and four defeats, with 14 goals scored and 11 conceded. A positive goal difference of three is a decent base, but the last six matches without a win show the cushion is being used up. Only three goals in the last five league games explains much of the slide: the attack has not been producing enough to turn narrow games into wins.
The next fixture asks a hard question. Alavés face Barcelona on 31 October in La Liga, and the site’s forecast for that game locks 24 hours before kick-off, so no pick is available yet. Against a side of that quality, the problems flagged against Málaga, losing the ball and failing to build attacks, are likely to be exposed even more. A first win in seven would be a major result. A more realistic target is a compact, organized performance that keeps the goal difference intact, with Mañas, Martínez and Boyé offering a counter-attacking threat if they start.
