Osasuna vs Real Madrid match preview and predictions for Saturday’s LaLiga match. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as Los Blancos travel to Pamplona.
- DATE: Saturday 9th January 2021
- KICK-OFF: 21:00 (local time)
- STADIUM: El Sadar
- COMPETITION: LaLiga
Osasuna vs Real Madrid Preview
The late game in LaLiga on Saturday comes from El Sadar. Real Madrid will be spared the usual hostile welcome in Pamplona with fans continuing to be absent from Spanish top flight grounds. This is 2nd bottom playing host to 2nd top and clearly the onus will be on Los Blancos to deliver three points, although in this strange season anything can happen.
Osasuna haven’t won in LaLiga since their 1-0 victory over Athletic way back in October. It’s 10 league matches without a victory since then for Jagoba Arrasate’s side. That’s clearly a concern but they have found a higher level of performance in their recent games.
It’s three straight league league draws for Osasuna heading into this and they picked up an excellent point away to Real Sociedad last time out. Their ability to keep 11 players on the pitch at Anoeta certainly helped after a run which saw them reduced to 10 men in three straight matches, including very early red cards in their last two home games.
Real Madrid will be hoping for more ill discipline from their hosts here as they look to make it 7 wins in 8 league games. They clearly have found an extra gear over the past month or so with their trusted central midfield trio of Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos helping to steady the ship and start delivering results on a more consistent basis.
However there is still the sense that they are vulnerable to taking their eye off the ball in games such as this, where there is greater expectation on them to win. The only one of their last 7 league fixtures which didn’t produce victory was against Elche, the bookies’ favourites for relegation while home losses to Cadiz and Alaves already this term may well prove very costly in the final reckoning.
Read all our LaLiga match previews here!
Head to Head
- Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 6 Real Madrid Wins.
- Los Blancos have dominated the recent history of this fixture, winning all of their last 7 vs Osasuna.
- A 2-2 draw between the sides at El Sadar in 2013 was the last time Osasuna avoided defeat.
- Real Madrid have been reduced to 10 men on 3 of their last 5 visits to this ground.
Team News
Osasuna keeper Ruben Martinez is out with a broken finger. Jonathan Calleri and Ante Budimir will battle it out to lead the line.
Dani Carvajal is banned for Real Madrid meaning Lucas Vazquez should be employed at full-back.
Predicted Osasuna Starting Lineup:
Herrera – Cruz, D. Garcia, Aridane, Vidal – Moncayola – R. Garcia, Perez, Pier, Torres – Calleri (4-1-4-1)
Predicted Real Madrid Starting Lineup:
Courtois – Mendy, Varane, Ramos, Vazquez – Modric, Casemiro, Kroos – Vini, Benzema, Asensio (4-3-3)
Osasuna vs Real Madrid Predictions
Score Prediction: Osasuna 1-2 Real Madrid
You can never feel 100% confident in Real Madrid against teams near the bottom of LaLiga. Osasuna have performed better in the past few matches and will put everything into this, but Real Madrid should still have enough quality to get the job done, with the midfield working well and Marco Asensio showing signs of returning towards his best form.
Osasuna vs Real Madrid Betting Tips (18+)
Get our betting picks for this fixture, as well as all the others in LaLiga this weekend by following LaLiga Expert for free on Tipstrr. You can view all our profit/loss stats and much more there.
Note that we don’t guarantee any long-term gains if you’re backing our La Liga tips and predictions. If you do choose to bet, only stake what you can afford to lose. See BeGambleAware for more on responsible gambling.
