Alaves come into this season opener with real momentum. They finished last term just one point above the drop, but they ended strongly — losing just once in their final four games. That resilience is exactly what you want to carry into a new campaign. And they've been sharp in pre-season, thrashing Castellon 3-0 and looking like a side that has found its attacking teeth. At the Estadio de Mendizorroza, with the home crowd behind them, they'll be desperate to make this ground a fortress from day one. This is a club that knows how to scrap, and they'll be buzzing for this one.

Getafe, meanwhile, are the ultimate low-block merchants. They won their friendly against Reading 1-0, but that tells you everything — they grind out results, they don't entertain. Last season they scored just 32 goals in La Liga, the 19th-best attacking record in the division. That is brutal. They travel with clear ambitions of defensive resilience and fast transitions, but that approach can leave them toothless away from home. They'll sit deep, they'll frustrate, but can they actually hurt Alaves? Recent history suggests they'll struggle to create enough to win this.