Preview
Osasuna will welcome Barcelona to Estadio El Sadar with the hope of securing a win that will put them farther away from the relegation zone. Following a turbulent start to the 2020-2021 campaign, Gorritxoak Los Rojillos have put together an impressive run that has currently put them in 13th position with 28 points from 25 appearances. They are currently six points adrift of the relegation zone and could well make a significant step in avoiding the drop with a historic win over their Catalan opponents.
Osasuna will enter the weekend's clash on the back of a solid display that earned them a crucial 1-0 win over relegation-battling Alaves. Jagoba Arrasate's men have so far picked up nine points from their last five league matches - their best run spanning across five games this season. Nevertheless, their form against Barcelona is worrying and barely creates any room for optimism to exist in their favor ahead of the weekend's meeting.
The Pamplona outfit has managed just a win in their last nine outings against Los Blaugrana, drawing two and losing the remaining eight matches. Up until last season's surprise 2-1 win at Camp Nou, Los Rojillos had not won against the Catalans in over eight years. Considering that the latter have picked up the pace in recent weeks, replicating last season's historic win will surely not come cheap for Arrasate's men.
For Barcelona, the objective remains to get anything other than a win when they travel to El Sadar on Saturday. Just like the opponent they will face, Los Blaugrana have overcome a poor start to put together an impressive run. At the moment, the former league title holders are currently sitting in second position with 53 points - five points behind leaders Atletico Madrid. A win over Osasuna will reduce the point margin to two ahead of Sunday's Madrid's derby.
Barca will go into the upcoming encounter soaring in confidence after completing a remontada to eliminate Sevilla from the Copa del Rey in midweek. Ronaldo Koeman's men entered the night's clash with a two-goal deficit overturn and were successful in doing so with Gerard Pique securing a 3-0 win for them in extra-time against a nine-men Sevilla side.
This, coupled with the fact that the Camp Nou outfit has won all of its two most recent league outings, certainly paints a positive picture. They are yet to concede a goal in 180 minutes of league action but with three of the four losses they have suffered in the ongoing campaign coming away from home, the implementation of stringent measures will be required to avoid any potential upset.
Team news
Both Facundo Roncaglia and Chimy Avila will be unavailable for Osasuna's encounter with Barcelona through injury. Meanwhile, the availability of Darko Brasanac, Ruben Martinez and Inigo Perez remains uncertain with the trio still recuperating.
On the other hand, Philippe Coutinho, Ansu Fati and Sergi Roberto will be omitted from the Barca squad as they continue their respective recovery journeys. Gerard Pique joined the injury list with a knee problem after scoring the winner in the mid-week's victory over Sevilla. Both Miralem Pjanic and Ronald Araujo are doubts for Saturday's game.
Predicted starting XI
-
Osasuna: Herrera; Vidal, Aridane, D Garcia, Cruz; Torro, Oier, Moncayola; Torres, Calleri, R Garcia
-
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Dest, Mingueza, Lenglet, Alba; Pedri, Busquets, De Jong; Trincao, Messi, Griezmann.
Broadcast information
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
