Osasuna vs Mallorca predictions and match preview for Saturday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as Mallorca travel to Pamplona.
| Date | Saturday 14th January 2023 |
| Kick-Off | 18:30 (CET) |
| Stadium | El Sadar |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Osasuna vs Mallorca Preview
Osasuna and Mallorca meet in a clash between two of the best organised if rarely most exciting teams in LaLiga. Osasuna will be the favourites with home advantage at El Sadar but they will need to work hard to break open this Mallorca defence.
It has been a tough start to life back after the World Cup for Osasuna who have visited Basque duo Real Sociedad and Athletic Club in successive weeks. They couldn’t get anything from their trip to Donostia but dug deep to claim a useful 0-0 draw at San Mames last time out. Jagoba Arrasate made a few surprise selection calls for that game, including dropping key man Chimy Avila, but the cautious approach was largely justified by the result.
Osasuna had just 3 attempts in that game but there will be much more onus on them to dictate the play here and we may get a very different eleven as a result, particularly in the final third where Avila should return. Only 5 teams have collected more home points than Osasuna this season so they will approach the game with confidence but they may need to be patient if they want to find a breakthrough.
That’s because Mallorca will most likely give them a taste of their own medicine with Javier Aguirre likely to set up in quite a defensive fashion. The Mexican will want a big improvement from Mallorca’s last away game where they really didn’t show up for a 2-0 defeat at Getafe in their first game back after the World Cup.
There was an improvement last time out against Real Valladolid back in the Balearics but again they struggled to create much from open play. Luckily they have Abdon Prats, in many respects one of the most limited forwards in the league, but a specialist in the art of late goals and delivering when it matters most. On this occasion he headed in a 94th minute winner, the only goal of the game, from an excellent Lee Kang-in free-kick.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Osasuna
| INJURED | Vidal, Pena, Kike Saverio |
| DOUBTFUL | |
| BANNED |
Possible XI: Aitor Fernandez – Cruz, Unai Garcia, David Garcia, Moreno – Moncayola, Torro, Oroz – Ruben Garica, Chimy, Moi Gomez (4-3-3)
Coach: Jagoba Arrasate
Mallorca
| INJURED | |
| DOUBTFUL | |
| BANNED |
Possible XI: Rajkovic – Copete, Valjent, Raillo – Costa, Baba, Ruiz de Galarreta, Maffeo – Dani Rodriguez, Kang-in – Muriqi (3-4-2-1)
Coach: Javier Aguirre
Score Prediction: Osasuna 1-0 Mallorca
This could be a bit like Mallorca’s home game with Real Valladolid last week, only with the reverse outcome more likely from the perspective of Javier Aguirre’s team. Osasuna have home advantage and also more attacking options that could force a breakthrough should this turn out to be as tight a game as it feels like it will be.
PLEASE NOTE – Our LaLiga predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.
