Anaitasuna FT vs Alaves: Match Preview, Predictions and Betting Tips

Anaitasuna FT vs Alavés

Spain Copa del Rey 2026/27 Prediction & Betting Tips

📅 Tuesday, 10 November 2026

🕐 19:00 CET

🏟️ Campo Txerloia, Azkoitia

📺 LaLiga TV Bar & RFEF streaming platforms

Match Overview

Miguel Rodríguez Common 73 OVR RW - EA FC 26 - FUT.GG

The Copa del Rey does romance better than any other domestic cup in Europe, and the 2026/27 first round serves up one of its most enchanting ties on Tuesday 10 November 2026 when CD Anaitasuna FT of Azkoitia welcome La Liga outfit Deportivo Alavés to the 1,500-capacity Campo Txerloia. Kick-off is set for 19:00 CET, and this is uncharted territory for both clubs: despite hailing from the same Basque football heartland, Anaitasuna and Alavés have never met in a competitive fixture. For the hosts, sixth-tier artisans of the División de Honor Gipuzkoa, it is the biggest match in the club's history — a night under the lights against top-flight opposition, in front of a sell-out crowd packed into a ground where the stands sit practically on top of the touchlines. You can follow every twist of cup week across Spain in our football predictions for today hub, where every Copa del Rey first-round tie is covered in full.

Anaitasuna have earned this stage the hard way. Xabier Artetxe's side demolished their qualifying opposition, winning 5-0 at home and 5-2 away to advance 10-2 on aggregate, and those ten goals tell you this is no passive underdog — at their own level, the Azkoitia club score freely. Their reward is a visit from a Deportivo Alavés team that sits 4-3-4 after eleven La Liga rounds, a respectable mid-table return but one punctuated by a humbling 1-6 defeat at Barcelona on 31 October. Quique Sánchez Flores now takes his squad to Gipuzkoa with rotation certain and pride to restore, and anyone studying how recent form predicts the next match will recognise that heavy defeats against elite sides often precede strong responses against overmatched ones. For the full context of what Alavés just went through at the other end of Spanish football, read our Alavés vs Barcelona preview.

The stakes could hardly be more asymmetric. For Alavés, progression is the minimum expectation — anything less would be one of the great Copa shocks of the modern era, and it is precisely that fear of the banana skin that will shape their preparation. For Anaitasuna, the tie represents a second shot at history: their only previous appearance at this stage, in the 2020/21 Copa del Rey, ended in a cruel 2-1 home defeat to Getafe decided by a stoppage-time penalty. Five years on, the club founded in 1944 — presided over by Pedro Urdapilleta and coached by Artetxe — gets to relive the dream on its own patch. The market reflects the gulf between the divisions: Alavés are priced around 1.10 in European decimal odds, the draw sits near 9.50, and an Anaitasuna win is a 23.00 shot. For a broader statistical lens on how Spanish cup markets behave, see our Spanish football betting odds analysis, and for insurance-based angles on ties like this one, our double chance prediction page explains how to protect a position when heavy favourites are involved.

Tactical Preview

Toni martinez alaves hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy

Formation & Key Matchups

Anaitasuna FT 4-4-2

Xabier Artetxe is expected to mirror the pragmatic 4-4-2 that produced ten qualifying goals: two compact banks of four, quick direct balls into the channels behind the full-backs, and a heavy emphasis on dead-ball situations. At the Txerloia, with supporters spilling onto the surrounding embankments, Anaitasuna will press man-to-man in wide areas and gamble on second balls, looking to turn the game into a series of rugby-style set-piece scrums rather than a footballing contest. Their long-throw routines and near-post corner flick-ons are genuinely rehearsed weapons at this level, and the tight pitch dimensions compress the space Alavés' technicians would prefer to work in. For more on how underdogs manage territory and tempo against superior opposition, read our feature on controlling a football match without the ball.

Deportivo Alavés 4-2-3-1

Quique Sánchez Flores will field a rotated but still emphatically professional 4-2-3-1. Even the second-string version of this squad — Antonio Sivera or summer signing Ville Koski in goal; Nahuel Tenaglia, Nicolás Valentini, Abdel Abqar and Javi López across the back; Antonio Blanco and Ander Guevara screening; Miguel Rodríguez, Mikel Rodríguez and Carlos Vicente behind Toni Martínez — would stroll into any side in the division below. The visitors' plan will be patient circulation through the double pivot, switching the point of attack to isolate the full-backs, and flooding the box for cutbacks rather than hopeful crosses. If you enjoy dissecting shapes like this, our tactical breakdown of the strongest football formations explains why the 4-2-3-1 remains the default structure for favourites in cup football, and our retrospective on total football's historic legacy shows how positional superiority concepts trickle all the way down to ties like this one.

Critical Vulnerability

The decisive mismatch is Anaitasuna's defensive third against sustained Alavés width. Sixth-tier full-backs, however brave, will be dragged into one-v-one situations against €5 million wingers, and once the first tackle is beaten, the recovery pace of an amateur back line against professional runners is the single biggest gap in the tie. Conversely, Alavés' own vulnerability is psychological rather than tactical: a rotated side that was just beaten 6-1 can start slowly, can concede cheap free-kicks in dangerous areas, and can lose aerial duels against committed, well-drilled set-piece blockers. If Anaitasuna survive the first twenty minutes and win a couple of early corners, the noise at the Txerloia could make the favourites twitchy — but over ninety minutes, structural quality almost always outlasts adrenaline.

Team News & Squad Status

Anaitasuna FT ✅✅

Squad status: Xabier Artetxe has his entire amateur group available, with no published injury or suspension concerns at this level of the game; the starting XI will be confirmed on matchday.
In form: Ten goals across two qualifying ties — a 5-0 home win and a 5-2 away victory — underline a side scoring freely at División de Honor Gipuzkoa level.
Part-time professionals: Artetxe's players balance football with day jobs, a reality that shapes training rhythm but also fuels the cup romance narrative.
Club context: Founded in 1944 and led by president Pedro Urdapilleta, the club expects a sell-out at the 1,500-capacity Txerloia with demand far outstripping supply.
Historical echo: Their only previous Copa first-round tie, against Getafe in December 2020, was lost 2-1 to a stoppage-time penalty — fuel for the belief that lightning will not strike twice.

Deportivo Alavés 🟡🔴🟢🟡🔴

Rotation expected: After the 1-6 defeat at Barcelona on 31 October, Quique Sánchez Flores is set to make sweeping changes while still naming a full-strength cup side.
Captain: Goalkeeper Antonio Sivera, who signed a contract extension in August 2026, retains the armband; summer signing Ville Koski (from NK Istra, contracted until 2031) provides new competition for the gloves.
New signings pushing for starts: Club-record €5m recruit Miguel Rodríguez (FC Utrecht, until 2031), Mikel Rodríguez (Real Sociedad B) and defender Nicolás Valentini (Fiorentina, until 2029).
Departures: Asier Villalibre, Jon Guridi, Raúl Fernández, Joan Parada (to Spartak Moscow), Aleksandar Maraš, Mamadou Diarra and Owono all left in the summer; Ropero and Pica moved out on loan.
Fresh injury concerns: None reported in the immediate build-up to the tie, giving Flores a full travelling squad to choose from.

Predicted Lineups

FM26 Antonio Blanco - Football Manager 26

Anaitasuna FT 4-4-2	Deportivo Alavés 4-2-3-1
To be confirmed (GK)	GK: Antonio Sivera (c)
To be confirmed (RB)	RB: Nahuel Tenaglia
To be confirmed (CB)	CB: Nicolás Valentini
To be confirmed (CB)	CB: Abdel Abqar
To be confirmed (LB)	LB: Javi López
To be confirmed (RM)	DM: Antonio Blanco
To be confirmed (CM)	DM: Ander Guevara
To be confirmed (CM)	RW: Miguel Rodríguez
To be confirmed (LM)	AM: Mikel Rodríguez
To be confirmed (ST)	LW: Carlos Vicente
To be confirmed (ST)	ST: Toni Martínez
Amateur XI announced on matchday; no published squad list	Impact options: Lucas Boyé, Ville Koski, Stoichkov

Head-to-Head Record

Deportivo Alavés vs Atlético Madrid - live score, predicted lineups and H2H stats

Remarkably for two clubs separated by barely 150 kilometres of Basque coastline, Anaitasuna and Alavés have never met in a competitive fixture — this is a genuine first. Anaitasuna's entire Copa del Rey ledger consists of the 2020/21 campaign, when they won a qualifying tie away to Real Titánico before pushing La Liga's Getafe all the way in a 2-1 home first-round defeat settled by a stoppage-time penalty. That near-miss remains the reference point for everything the club does in this competition, and for a nation that treats dead-ball specialists with near-religious reverence, our feature on the masters of the spot kick is a fitting companion read to that memory.

Anaitasuna FT Wins

Deportivo Alavés Wins

Draws

Total Meetings

The absence of history is itself the story. Basque football is woven with cross-town and cross-province rivalries — Athletic Club and Real Sociedad staged the first league derby of this very season on 1 November, a fixture dripping with more than a century of mutual hostility — and cup nights in small Gipuzkoa towns carry a romance that money cannot buy. Alavés, as the professional interloper, will be greeted with polite Basque hospitality off the pitch and a wall of noise on it, while their neighbours' derbies, like the one covered in our Athletic Bilbao vs Real Sociedad preview, show the footballing culture Anaitasuna's youngsters grew up inside. The 2020 Getafe tie proves the hosts belong on this stage; whether they can stay on it for ninety minutes against Flores' professionals is the only question that matters.

Key Players Comparison

Anaitasuna — The Set-Piece Battery

With no published squad list at this level, Anaitasuna's threat is collective rather than individual: rehearsed long throws, near-post corner routines and second-ball aggression crafted on Artetxe's training ground. Any one of eleven part-timers could be the hero on the night.

Toni Martínez — Alavés (ST)

The physical reference point of the rotated attack. His aerial dominance against amateur centre-backs, his hold-up play to bring runners into the game and his penalty-box presence make him the most likely first scorer on the evening.

Miguel Rodríguez — Alavés (RW)

The club-record €5m summer signing from FC Utrecht arrives with a point to prove after watching Alavés ship six at Barcelona. His one-v-one pace against a sixth-tier left-back is the single most lopsided duel on the pitch.

Antonio Blanco — Alavés (DM)

The metronome. If Blanco dictates tempo, Anaitasuna's 4-4-2 will be pulled apart by switch after switch; if the hosts deny him time on the ball, the underdog dream stays alive deep into the second half.

The comparison is structurally unfair, and that is precisely the point of the market. Anaitasuna's "key player" is a system — a set-piece philosophy and a collective work rate forged in the División de Honor — while Alavés can field internationals-in-waiting and €5m signings even in a rotated XI. Martínez versus Anaitasuna's centre-backs is a professional-amateur contest in the truest sense, and Rodríguez's duel with the left-back will be arbitrated by pace alone. For readers who followed Alavés' league campaign — including the side Sánchez Flores fielded in our Celta Vigo vs Alavés preview, where Miguel Rodríguez and Lucas Boyé led the line and Valentini partnered the back line — the cup version will look familiar in shape, if not in personnel. Our Deportivo La Coruña vs Osasuna preview, meanwhile, shows what this Alavés attack did to the side that conceded 3.4 goals per away game: five goals in Mendizorroza earlier this season. When the talent gap is this wide, individual quality in one-v-one moments is what separates a routine away win from a genuine cup scare.

The Managers

Xabier Artetxe — Anaitasuna FT

Artetxe's job this week is emotional as much as tactical. His players — electricians, students, shopkeepers by day — must be made to believe that a 1,500-capacity bowl in Azkoitia can hold its own against a La Liga payroll, and the evidence of the qualifying rounds suggests he has succeeded: two five-goal performances do not happen by accident at any level.

Tactically, expect a low 4-4-2, aggressive man-marking in wide areas, and an unapologetic commitment to direct football and dead balls. Artetxe will remind his squad that Getafe needed a 94th-minute penalty to beat them five years ago, and that the scoreboard, not the badge, decides cup ties. His substitutions will be fearless, and the crowd will be treated as a twelfth man from the first whistle.

Quique Sánchez Flores — Deportivo Alavés

Sánchez Flores, one of the most experienced coaches in Spanish football after spells at Atlético Madrid, Watford and Getafe, inherited the Mendizorroza hot seat in March 2026 and has overseen a bold summer rebuild. His 2026/27 side sits 4-3-4 after eleven rounds — with wins over Getafe, Villarreal and Osasuna — but arrives in Gipuzkoa bruised after the 1-6 reverse at Barcelona on 31 October.

Cup ties against sixth-tier opposition are precisely where his managerial pedigree matters most: rotating without disrespecting the opponent, keeping professional standards high on an artificial-feeling tight pitch, and ensuring his players treat the first twenty minutes as a final. History says his teams rarely slip in these fixtures, and a clean, businesslike 3-0 win would quiet the noise of that Barcelona defeat and reset Alavés' season before La Liga resumes.

Betting Predictions & Tips

🎯 BEST PICK: Deportivo Alavés -2.5 Asian Handicap

Odds: 1.88 (European)

With Alavés around 1.10 in the straight 1X2 market, the value has to be found on the handicap. Our model makes the visitors roughly 72% likely to win by three or more goals against a sixth-tier side, which compares favourably with the 53% implied by 1.88. The handicap insulates you against the only realistic banana-skin scenario — a rotated side sleepwalking to a 1-0 or 2-1 — while still paying out handsomely in our predicted 0-3 outcome. Our reasoning follows the principles in our European handicap score adjustments guide, and for the strongest single selections daily, see our banker of the day page.

⭐ VALUE PLAY: Alavés to Win to Nil

Odds: 1.65 (European)

Anaitasuna's route to goal runs almost exclusively through set pieces, and even their qualifying avalanche (ten goals) came against teams of their own level. Against a professional back four marshalled by Sivera or Koski — with Valentini and Abqar both dominant in the air — clear chances from open play should be close to zero. The 1.65 on a clean-sheet away win implies barely 60%; our projection is nearer 70%. To understand why shutouts are such powerful building blocks in cup betting, read our explainer on what a clean sheet means in football, and cross-reference both-teams-to-score pricing on our GG/NG predictions hub.

📊 Over 2.5 Total Goals

Odds: 1.48 (European)

Copa del Rey first-round mismatches at this extreme level average close to four goals per game, and Anaitasuna's qualifying ties (5-0, 5-2) confirm an open, attacking identity they will not abandon at home. Even a rotated Alavés side put five past Osasuna in the league this season, and the 6-1 defeat at Barcelona says nothing about their attacking ceiling against overmatched defences. Three goals at 1.48 is the conservative leg of our treble thinking — see our over/under prediction hub for more totals angles.

⚽ Correct Score: Anaitasuna 0-3 Alavés

Odds: 9.00 (European)

Our headline prediction, priced at a generous 9.00 in European odds. The logic: a patient first half as the favourites probe (0-1 by the interval), a second-half step-up in tempo as legs tire and spaces open (0-2), and a late, professional third to put the tie beyond any set-piece fairy tale. Correct score is the highest-variance market we recommend, so keep stakes proportionate — our correct score tips page covers staking discipline and how to build small-score portfolios responsibly.

🤔 SPECULATIVE: Miguel Rodríguez to Score 2+ Goals

Odds: 4.50 (European)

For those chasing a bigger return from a modest stake, the club-record signing is the obvious candidate. He will start on the right of the 4-2-3-1 against a left-back recruited from the sixth tier, and a player signed for €5m from FC Utrecht did not arrive to watch Cup ties from the bench. Two goals at 4.50 reflects the true probability if Alavés reach three or four goals, as we project. Pair it with the win-to-nil selection for a high-odds same-game combination, but treat it strictly as a speculative garnish on the main plays.

⚠️ Disclaimer: Odds are indicative and subject to change. Please gamble responsibly. 18+. If affected by problem gambling, contact the National Responsible Gambling Programme: 0800 006 008.

📊 Final Score Prediction

Anaitasuna FT

–

Deportivo Alavés

Match Analysis

We forecast a 0-3 away victory. The opening half-hour is where the fairy tale will live or die: Anaitasuna will fly into tackles, launch long throws toward the Alavés box and try to drag the favourites into the emotional whirlwind a packed Txerloia generates. But professional sides ride these storms, and Alavés' first goal — most likely from a cutback finished by Martínez or a breakaway finished by Rodríguez — should arrive between the 25th and 40th minutes. The second half follows the classic cup script: legs tire, gaps widen, and Mikel Rodríguez's creativity between the lines turns pressure into a second goal, with a late third — our 9.00 correct-score selection — sealing a businesslike evening's work. Anaitasuna's best moments will come from corners; one header flashing narrowly wide around the hour mark will be the hosts' defining memory. At 1.10 the outright win is unbackable for value hunters, but as an anchor in multiples it is as close to a sure thing as Spanish football offers this midweek — for the day's strongest selections across all competitions, our sure win predictions hub is the place to start, and our beginner's guide to reading football betting odds explains what a 1.10 price really implies about probability.

The single biggest threat to this prediction is early complacency: if Alavés concede a soft free-kick and Anaitasuna flick in a header inside the first fifteen minutes, the tie becomes a siege and the handicap plays go up in smoke. But even in that nightmare scenario, the quality gap across the remaining seventy-five minutes is enormous, and Sánchez Flores' entire selection policy — captain Sivera organising the box, Blanco controlling tempo, Rodríguez stretching the pitch — is designed to prevent exactly that chaos. Expect Alavés to lead at half-time, control the second half, and win the shot count by a double-digit margin. Everything about this fixture — the market, the squads, the tactical profiles and the managers' pedigrees — points to a clean, professional away win with no late drama, and that is precisely how the 0-3 prediction was built.

Key Insights & Statistics

This is the first-ever competitive meeting between the two clubs — Anaitasuna and Alavés have never previously shared a pitch in official competition.
Anaitasuna reached this round by winning their qualifying ties 5-0 and 5-2, a 10-2 aggregate that marks them as far more than ceremonial participants.
The hosts play in the División de Honor Gipuzkoa, the sixth tier of Spanish football — five divisions below La Liga visitors Alavés.
Alavés sit 4-3-4 in La Liga after eleven rounds, but were beaten 1-6 at Barcelona on 31 October — heaviest defeat of Sánchez Flores' tenure to date.
Campo Txerloia holds only 1,500 spectators, making it one of the smallest venues ever to host Alavés in an official match.
Anaitasuna's only previous Copa del Rey first-round appearance ended in a 2-1 home defeat to Getafe in December 2020, settled by a stoppage-time penalty.
European odds of around 1.10 on Alavés imply a win probability above 90%; the draw at 9.50 and a home win at 23.00 complete the market.
Alavés invested heavily in summer 2026: club-record €5m signing Miguel Rodríguez (Utrecht), Ville Koski (Istra), Mikel Rodríguez (Real Sociedad B) and Nicolás Valentini (Fiorentina) all arrived.
Both coaches have full squads available, with Sánchez Flores expected to rotate heavily while Anaitasuna name their strongest available XI on matchday.
For live in-play angles on cup mismatches — including how the first-goal timing reshapes totals markets — see our feature on first-half betting strategy.

Conclusion

Anaitasuna FT vs Deportivo Alavés is the Copa del Rey at its very best: a 1,500-capacity ground in Azkoitia, a part-time squad of local heroes, and a La Liga giant-killing dream that will carry the hosts through the first twenty minutes at full throttle. But football matches at this level of mismatch are usually decided by the same immutable truth — professional structure, athleticism and depth win out over ninety minutes. Our prediction is a 0-3 away victory, with Alavés scoring once before half-time and twice after the break, keeping a clean sheet, and advancing to the next round without ever needing to leave second gear.

For bettors, the recommended route is Alavés -2.5 on the Asian handicap at 1.88 as the anchor selection, the win-to-nil at 1.65 as the value play, and the 0-3 correct score at 9.00 as a smaller speculative stake — all in European decimal odds. More conservative bankrolls can simply ladder the 1.10 outright win into midweek multiples, and our bet of the day column, hot predictions page and acca tips guide offer ready-made building blocks. Whatever you stake, keep it measured: cup football's romance exists precisely because results are not guaranteed, even at 1.10.

Tuesday night at the Txerloia will be remembered in Azkoitia for decades regardless of the scoreline — the flags, the flares, the moment eleven part-timers line up against La Liga professionals. But when the final whistle blows, expect class to have told: Alavés through, Sivera's gloves barely dirtied, and a 0-3 scoreline that keeps the favourites' season on track. Follow every minute live via our livescores service, and enjoy one of the great early-round occasions of the 2026/27 Copa del Rey. Good luck, and gamble responsibly.