Osasuna vs Elche Predictions & Match Preview

Osasuna vs Elche predictions and match preview for Monday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for expert analysis, the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as the visitors look to move on following a coaching change.

Osasuna vs Elche Preview

The Monday night game this week in LaLiga comes from El Sadar. Osasuna have made a pretty strong start to the campaign and they host an Elche side that sacked coach Fran Escriba last week after less than a year at the helm.

Osasuna have had a really tough run of fixtures of late so to some extent it’s no surprise that they have slipped down the table a bit. They’ve lost their last 3 games to nil and haven’t scored a goal since the 1-1 home draw against Granada over a month ago. However their last four games have been against the current top four and clearly this fixture presents them with a chance to get back on track.

Even despite that drop-off in results, Osasuna are still in 9th heading into this matchday. A European push isn’t impossible as they look solid at the back and have options and goals in the final third. However you wonder if they are just still lacking that creative midfielder that could make all the difference and provide better service for the likes of Kike Garcia, Chimy Avila and Ante Budimir who are competing for starting roles in attack.

As for Elche, their 3-0 defeat against Betis last weekend spelt the end for Fran Escriba. Although that was a 6th game without a win, it still came as something of a shock to see Escriba go. He not only oversaw their best period in recent decades when he was at the club between 2012 and 2015 but also guided them to safety having taken over the reins late last season.

It felt as though those facts would have at least bought Escriba some time but the Elche board felt differently and have opted for a new direction. At the time of writing, a new coach has not been appointed so it’s hard to know what to expect from Elche here. Defensive errors cost them badly last weekend and Escriba’s decision to reinstate Edgar Badia in goal has so far not been a successful one with Kiko Casilla likely to be hopeful of regaining his place under new management.

Head to Head

• Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 2 Osasuna Wins, 1 Elche Win, 3 Draws.
• Osasuna are unbeaten in 5 games against Elche.
• They’ve not lost any of the 4 meetings at El Sadar this century.
• The sides last met in April in Pamplona with Osasuna winning 2-0.

Team News

Lucas Torro is banned for the hosts while Rober Ibanez has got Covid-19.

Fidel is a doubt for the away team. Pablo Piatti is fit again.

Possible Lineups

Osasuna vs Elche Predictions

Score Prediction: Osasuna 2-0 Elche

Elche were all over the place in the opening half hour against Betis last weekend and the delay in appointing a new coach reduces the chance of us seeing a big reaction from them here. Osasuna’s recent form has been poor but the opposition has been very tough and they should find this fixture much more to their liking.

All LaLiga Previews & Predictions

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