Ponferrada Have Had Our Number — We Owe Them One
Alavés welcome Ponferrada on 9 December with recent meetings still stinging and a home crowd expecting a response.
“They've had the better of us, and we know it,” an Alavés voice says of Ponferrada, and the fixture list has not been kind. The last three meetings read badly for the hosts: a 1-1 draw in Ponferrada on 18 March, and before that two 2-0 defeats, both at Alavés, on 29 October 2062 and 12 March 2062.
So the visit of Los Bercianos on 9 December carries more than three points. Alavés have shown what they can do going forward this season — the four-goal sweep of Espanyol in September, Mohamed Lluna pulling the strings — but September's derby defeat to Athletic Bilbao cut them down. Ponferrada arrive in the middle of a crowded run, with Levante and Villarreal to come and Shamrock Rovers in the Champions League. For Alavés, the chance is simple: end the wait against them.