Barcelona did the near unthinkable in midweek, defeating Sevilla 3-0 in the Copa del Rey semifinal second leg to overturn a 2-0 deficit. Now, Barcelona turn their attention back to La Liga with an away trip to Osasuna.
The Blaugrana are in good form going into the match in Pamplona. Ronald Koeman’s team won 4-0 in the reverse fixture played at Camp Nou in November and will seek to do the double over the hosts.
Martin Braithwaite opened the scoring in the 29th minute for Barcelona and Antoine Griezmann added a second minutes later. Philippe Coutinho and Lionel Messi both got on the scoresheet in the second half.
Barcelona are up to second place in La Liga and could take a dramatic step toward the title. Atletico Madrid are playing poorly and clash with third-placed Real Madrid this weekend in the derby.
A Barcelona win versus Osasuna and Atletico Madrid loss would pull the former within two points of first place. Real Madrid are level on points with Barcelona (53) and have their sights set on the league title once more.
Osasuna are 12th in the standings but just six points above the relegation zone. The lower half of the La Liga table is competitive with very similar teams fighting for survival.
Tenth-placed Athletic Bilbao are currently a mere eight points above 18th-placed Alaves.
Manager Jagoba Arrasate’s team are in good form heading into matchday 26. They took 12 points from their last 18 on offer. Goals have been in short supply as just seven were tallied in that time while five were conceded.
Barcelona are atop the La Liga table with 16 points from their last 18 possible. They outscored opponents 16-5 during that timeframe.
Although Barcelona won the reverse fixture 4-0, Osasuna won away at Camp Nou last season, 2-1, and drew at home versus the Blaugrana 2-2. They are a team that cannot be counted out of getting a result despite Barcelona’s superiority in talent.
Koeman has several names on the team’s injury list. Centre-back Gerard Pique is once again injured and out until April. Ronald Araujo is a doubt with an ankle injury. Miralem Pjanic is also a doubt due to an ankle problem.
Sergi Roberto and Coutinho could both be fit to play as they recover from their respective injuries. Meanwhile, Ansu Fati remains out with a knee injury.
Arrasate has five names on the Osasuna injury list for the game. Inigo Perez is a doubt after sustaining a knock. Goalkeeper Inaki Alvarez could return following a muscle injury.
Goalkeeper Ruben Martinez has a finger injury and Facundo Roncaglia is suffering from a muscle strain.
Barcelona struggled to get points against Osasuna last season. However, they are likely to get a win versus Osasuna away from home and keep their excellent form going.
Expect both sides to score and over 2.5 goals to go into the back of the net.
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