Matchday 18 of La Liga between Osasuna and Athletic will take place on December 21 at the El Sadar Stadium in Pamplona. Osasuna vs. Athletic: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Predicted lineups for Osasuna vs. Athletic
Osasuna (4-2-3-1): Sergio Herrera – Alejandro Catena, Jesus Areso, Enzo Boyomo, Abel Bretones – Pablo Ibanez, Lucas Torro – Aimar Oroz, Raul Garcia, Ruben Garcia – Ante Budimir.
Athletic (4-2-3-1): Unai Simon – Oscar De Marcos, Adama Boiro, Aitor Paredes, Daniel Vivian – Mikel Haurregui, Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta – Nico Williams, Inaki Williams, Unai Gomez – Alex Berenguer.
The starting lineup for each team in their previous match in this tournament is indicated.
Osasuna
Vicente Moreno's side has dropped to eighth place in the standings. This happened after the team first lost to Real Madrid 0-4, followed by a series of four consecutive draws. The only notable result was the draw against Villarreal (2-2), as in the other three matches, the club dropped points against teams from the bottom half of the table.
Defender Alejandro Catena will miss the match due to yellow card accumulation.
- In their last 12 La Liga matches, the Pamplona side has lost only twice (4 wins and 6 draws).
- At least two goals have been scored in 8 of Osasuna's last 10 La Liga games.
- One team has won with a clean sheet in the first half in 8 of the club's last 10 league matches.
Athletic
The Basques are unbeaten in nine consecutive league matches (5 wins and 4 draws). In the last round, the team drew away to Alaves (1-1), but before that, they won four consecutive games. In this winning streak, Ernesto Valverde's side managed to defeat Real Madrid (2-1), Villarreal (2-0), and Real Sociedad (1-0). These results have had a positive impact on their standings – the club is in 4th place, just five points behind the leader.
- Exactly two or three goals have been scored in 6 of Athletic's last 7 La Liga games.
- Both teams have scored in 9 of the Basques' last 12 league matches.
- The number "1" appeared in the final score in 10 of the club's last 12 La Liga matches.
Osasuna vs. Athletic: Match Prediction
Bookmakers consider the visitors as favorites for the upcoming match, but the hosts could potentially end the visitors' unbeaten streak in the league. This season, the Basques have performed well away against teams from the bottom half of the table, but against top-10 clubs, they have played only three matches, drawing once and losing twice. It's also worth noting that last season, Athletic played in a similar manner away from home and only managed to earn one point against the top seven.
Of the 25 points Osasuna has earned in the current La Liga season, 18 have come from home matches. In their last 11 home league games, the club has suffered only one defeat (to Betis), securing 5 wins and as many draws. Additionally, in the past two seasons, the teams have faced each other four times in La Liga, with the Pamplona side losing only once (1 win and 2 draws). I predict that the hosts will at least not lose this match.
My prediction – 1X