However, with De Jong back in the team, they could be more energized against Alaves. I think Barcelona will learn from their mistakes after the Osasuna game and play with fewer mistakes in this match. Barcelona will not allow any surprises and will win this match.
De Jong is a kind of midfielder with passion on ball possession but does not have instinct of moving the ball forward directly and speedy. With him, Barcelona can control ball better in the midfield but match intensity will be slower and it will give opponents more time to restructure their defense system. I watched many boring matches like this with De Jong in midfields of Barcelona and Netherlands teams.
The chance of Barcelona maintaining the first position is high because their host Alaves is a weak club and I don't expect a draw in this match. As the league gets matured, that is when the strongest amongst these two clubs will prevail.
Barcelona have good form and they will bet all cost to win La Liga in this season so losing points to a weak team like Alaves is not in their plan. Football is unpredictable and Alaves have small chances to make a surprise and get points from Barcelona. Generally I believe that Barcelona can finish this match with three points for adding to their pocket and maintaining the first position after this week.