Will Osasuna also upset Barça at the Camp Nou?
FC Barcelona does not want to show any weakness in the fight for the top division. On matchday 28, the Blaugrana will host CA Osasuna at Camp Nou. Three points are absolutely mandatory against the team from the mid-table, otherwise there is a risk of slipping out of the Champions League ranks.
The home game against Osasuna will be a must-win for Xavi’s team. If you look at the odds for Barcelona vs. Osasuna, it immediately becomes clear that a clear must-win should be in store for favorites Barcelona.
But be careful: Barça should not make the mistake of underestimating their opponents. Not only because it appeared that Barcelona might have already done so in the Europa League first leg against Galatasaray, but also because Osasuna is surprisingly strong away from home.
The Catalans would therefore do well not to take the game against the guests from the bullfighting city of Pamplona lightly – otherwise something could come in the way of the tip on the home win at Barcelona vs. Osasuna, as was the case on Thursday in the Europa League.
Barcelona – statistics & current form
FC Barcelona is in really good form under Xavi. For ten games, the Blaugrana is now already undefeated in La Liga, has won seven games of them. Most recently, however, they struggled in the league at Elche in a 2:1, only coming to success late on through a penalty kick.
Even more troublesome was the performance on Thursday in the Europa League against Galatasaray Istanbul – this time even without having the better end for themselves. That’s because against Galatasaray, the highly favored Catalans only managed a disappointing 0-0 draw in the round of 16 first leg at Camp Nou.
Are Barcelona in goal-scoring mood again?
Of course, one had hoped for more, after all Barça shone several times recently, scoring four goals each against Atletico Madrid (4:2), Valencia (4:1), Athletic Bilbao (4:0) and in the Europa League in Naples (4:2). But there was no sign of this offensive power against Galatasaray.
The question now ahead of the home game in La Liga on Sunday evening (9 p.m.) is: Will Barça build on their exhilarating performances, or will they find it as difficult against Osasuna as they did against Galatasaray?
Predicted lineup of Barcelona:
Ter Stegen – Alves, Garcia, Piqué, Alba – Busquets, De Jong, Pedri – Dembélé, Aubameyang, Torres
Last matches played by Barcelona:
Europa League Final Stage
03/10 2022 – Barcelona 0 – 0 Galatasaray
LaLiga
03/06 2022 – Elche 1 – 2 Barcelona
02/27 2022 – Barcelona 4 – 0 Athletic Bilbao
Europa League Final Stage
02/24 2022 – SSC Napoli 2 – 4 Barcelona
LaLiga
02/20 2022 – Valencia 1 – 4 Barcelona
Osasuna – Statistics & current form
As already mentioned, the favored Catalans should not make the mistake of underestimating the guests from the north of Spain – even if Barça has a home game.
After all, Osasuna has only conceded twelve goals away from home – that’s the second-best figure in the league on their opponents’ pitch, with only Sevilla FC conceding fewer (7) in away games. Only five teams have also picked up more points in away games than Osasuna (20) – just only La Liga’s top five teams. Jagoba Arrasate’s team has won six of its thirteen away games.
That’s not too bad a figure: Even if Barça has to win a must-win game, Osasuna is truly not an easy opponent.
Osasuna strong defensively – especially away from home
Curiosity: in Osasuna’s last eight games, only one team has ever scored a goal. So either Osasuna has won by zero or lost by zero – or played 0-0. This result has happened five times this season for the team from Pamplona.
A to-nil at the Camp Nou, as Galatasaray already managed on Thursday, would of course be a remarkable achievement.
Osasuna can keep up with European Cup aspirants – and even keep a clean sheet against them – as they clearly demonstrated against Sevilla FC (0-0) and Villarreal CF (1-0) recently.
Predicted lineup of Osasuna:
Herrera – Vidal, D. Garcia, Cruz, Sanchez – Moncayola, Torro, Martinez, Torres, R. Garcia – Avila
Last matches of Osasuna :
LaLiga
03/05 2022 – Osasuna Pamplona 1 – 0 FC Villarreal
02/27 2022 – San Sebastian 1 – 0 Osasuna Pamplona
02/19 2022 – Osasuna Pamplona 0 – 3 Atletico Madrid
02/12 2022 – Rayo Vallecano 0 – 3 Osasuna Pamplona
02/05 2022 – Osasuna Pamplona 0 – 0 Sevilla
Barcelona – Osasuna Direct comparison / H2H record
Osasuna put an exclamation mark not only against Villarreal and Sevilla, but also against Barça itself: In the “first leg” in the first half of the season, they wrestled a 2-2 draw away from Barcelona – despite trailing twice.
However, Barcelona has won six of the last ten duels. Of course, the overall balance in La Liga is clearly in favor of the Catalans, who have won 45 of 79 encounters – with 18 draws and 16 victories for Osasuna. What is striking is that goals are often scored in these duels. Barça has scored 172 goals against Osasuna so far, an average of over two per game.
In the last ten direct duels alone, Barça has scored 33 goals. That could be a good reason to predict an over 2.5 goals for Barcelona against Osasuna.
Barcelona – Osasuna Spain Tip
Will Barcelona be hungry for goals, or will they have problems against the well-organized defense of the northern Spanish team? That’s the big question ahead of Sunday night’s clash, where Barça can’t afford to slip up given their precarious league position.
We believe that Barça will be more determined and decisive on the offensive after the surprising and disappointing draw against Galatasaray – even though Osasuna’s defense has been extremely solid so far.
We are therefore betting on Barcelona to continue its streak and win – and for there to be a few goals to marvel at again. We are betting on a Barça win with Over 2.5 goals. In the Barcelona vs. Osasuna match, this brings betting odds of 2.00 in some cases.
