La Liga, round 34

Barcelona vs Osasuna: Match preview, team news & lineups

Bad timing for relegation contenders Osasuna for Camp Nou visit.

By admin

League leaders Barcelona will host last placed Osasuna in round 34 of Spanish La Liga. After they have beaten their arch rivals Real Madrid in El Clasico just three days ago, Barcelona took over the pole position in La Liga. With 75 points after 33 rounds they are level on top of the table with Real Madrid – who have one game fewer than Barca.

The timing for Osasuna could hardly be worse. Impressive win against Real Madrid has given Barcelona stars boost of confidence and since there are just five more rounds to go, Barcelona can’t afford to lose any more points.

Although they are big favorites, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique calls for caution: “Games at the end of the season are more dangerous, especially against teams near the bottom,” he told at press conference.

On the other side, Osasuna are on the bottom of the table, nine points behind “safe zone”. Since there are only five more rounds to go it is almost certain that Osasuna will be performing in Segunda next season.

The positive thing for Osasuna (if there is one) can be that they have more victories on the road this season (2) than at home (one).

It will be the game between the best attack in the league against the worst defence in the league so we could expect to see more than a few goals.

Head to Head

Match Facts

  • Osasuna have won just once in their last 10 games in La Liga against Barcelona at Camp Nou (L9).
  • Barcelona have only conceded two goals in that period (1 goal in two games), scoring 34.
  • If Leganes win against Las Palmas and Osasuna lose this game, the Red team will be relegated.
  • Barcelona have failed to win four times at Camp Nou this season (D3 L1) for the first time since 2008/09 (D2 L2).
  • Having scored against Real Madrid at Camp Nou, Messi has reached 500 goals for Barcelona in all competitions.
  • Luis Enrique have never lost as a La Liga manager against Osasuna (W2 D1).

Team News

Aleix Vidal and Rafinha are injured, while Neymar is suspended for Barcelona.

Osasuna are having a big problems with injuries. Tano, Unai Garcia, Emmanuel Riviere, Miguel Flano, Didier Digard, Oriol Riera and Raoul Loe are all sidelined for the trip to Camp Nou.

Predicted Lineups

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Alba, Umititi, Pique, Roberto; Iniesta, Busquets, Rakitic; Messi, Alacer, Suarez.

Osasuna: Sirgu; Bunuel, Oier, Steven, Fuentes, Clerc; Tienza, Roberto Torres, Causic; Sergio Leon, Kodro.