Will the Rojillos upset the next top club?
Once again, CA Osasuna turned out to be their usual unpleasant opponents on Sunday night as the Rojillos drew 1-1 away at Real Madrid. It was the first loss of points for the Spanish record champions, which changed the lead in La Liga. Now the club from Pamplona, who climbed to sixth place with the point, will be looking to improve on that result against Valencia.
The Murciélagos have won just two of their last six league games (one draw, three defeats) and only managed a 2-2 equaliser in the sixth minute of injury time in a wild game against Espanyol Barcelona. Accordingly, the odds are swinging in the Rojillos’ favour ahead of the match between Osasuna and Valencia.
Osasuna have also been doing well against the Blanquinegros recently. The Rojillos have only lost one of their last four league games against the team from the Basque east coast (two wins, one draw). However, the Murciélagos come to Pamplona with the fourth-best attack, which is why betting on a point win for the visitors at Osasuna against Valencia is by no means out of the question.
The best value in our eyes is therefore a bet on over 2.5 goals. In only three of their last twelve encounters have they scored less than two goals each.
Osasuna – Statistics & current form
Club Atlético Osasuna returned to La Liga in the summer of 2019 after a two-year interlude in Spain’s second-tier, where the Pamplona club immediately re-established themselves under promotion-winning coach Jagoba Arrasate.
In none of the past three seasons have the Rojillos had anything to do with a relegation battle. Instead, the number 15 in the perpetual Primera División table has always finished tenth or eleventh in the final table.
Having won four of their first seven league games
At the start of the new season, the team from the autonomous region of Navarra is looking up rather than down. CA Osasuna have already won four of their first seven league games (one draw, two defeats) and are currently sixth in the table.
The Rojillos have already put two exclamation marks on their record. Not only did they manage a 2-1 home win over Sevilla FC on the opening day of the season, but last Sunday the supposed underdogs broke the winning streak of leaders Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Eric cold in front and very concentrated at the back
Although the Rojillos also benefited from a missed Benzema penalty and the Blancos’ lack of chances in the draw in the capital. In the end, however, it was also the cool-headedness of Kike García, who made up for Chimy Ávila’s bitter injury with his equaliser, and the stout defensive work that made the point not undeserved.
The sixth-placed team in the table, who have picked up nine points out of a possible twelve at home, are now favourites going into matchday eight.
Predicted line-up of Osasuna:
Herrera – Cruz – Hernández – U. García – Vidal – Torró – Ezzalzouli – Brasanac – Moncayola – Gómez – K. García
Last matches played by Osasuna:
La Liga
03/10/2022 – Real Madrid 1 – 1 Osasuna Pamplona
Club friendlies
22/09/2022 – Real Valladolid 0 – 2 Osasuna Pamplona
La Liga
18/09/2022 – Osasuna Pamplona 0 – 2 Getafe
13/09/2022 – Almeria 0 – 1 Osasuna Pamplona
04/09/2022 – Osasuna Pamplona 2 – 1 Rayo Vallecano
Valencia – Statistics & current form
Valencia Club de Fútbol have won the Spanish championship six times and also caused a sensation at the start of the current millennium when the Blanquinegros reached the Champions League final twice in a row in 2000 and 2001, but failed to reach it.
Most recently, the Murciélagos won their last league title and the UEFA Cup in 2004, before reaching the Copa del Rey final this summer but losing on penalties to Betis Sevilla.
Only ninth despite highly decorated squad
As ninth in the pre-season, the showpiece club from the Spanish east coast is thus not represented internationally in the 2022/23 season. The goal for new coach Gennaro Gattuso is therefore clear: to lead the club back into European competition.
To this end, several highly decorated offensive players have been signed, including Edinson Cavani, Samu Castillejo and Justin Kluivert. And although the target would have been missed with ten of 21 possible points and ninth place, the Blanquinegros caused quite a stir offensively. Twelve goals from seven games equals the fourth best offensive performance in La Liga
Always trailing in their last four games against Osasuna
Never the less, the Murciélagos have lost three of their last six league games (two wins, one draw) and most recently only averted another defeat at Espanyol Barcelona with an equaliser in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Their recent record against the Rojillos has not been overly good either, with the team from the east coast of Spain always falling behind in their last four encounters. However, because they have scored a goal of their own in all four games, it makes perfect sense to bet on over 2.5 goals for Osasuna against Valencia.
Predicted line-up of Valencia:
Mamardashvili – Gayà – Diakhaby – Paulista – Correia – Moriba – Guillamón – Almeida – Lino – Castillejo – Cavani
Last matches played by Valencia:
La Liga
02/10/2022 – Espanyol 2 – 2 Valencia
17/09/2022 – Valencia 3 – 0 Celta Vigo
10/09/2022 – Rayo Vallecano 2 – 1 Valencia
05/09/2022 – Valencia 5 – 1 Getafe
30/08/2022 – Valencia 0 – 1 Atletico Madrid
Osasuna – Valencia Direct comparison / H2H balance
Head to head: 19 – 23 – 42
There have been a total of 84 competitive matches between the two teams and with 42 wins, exactly half of all games went to Valencia. Recently, however, the Rojillos have been playing catch-up, losing only one of their last four league games against the Murciélagos (two wins, one draw).
Osasuna – Valencia Tip
For Osasuna against Valencia, the prediction goes slightly in the direction of the hosts, who have already won four of their first seven league games and most recently also took a point at Real Madrid. On the other hand, the Blanquinegros have lost three of their last six league games, but have the fourth best attack in La Liga with twelve goals already.
With the two teams having been consistently high-scoring – nine of their last twelve meetings have seen over 2.5 goals scored and the other three have seen over 1.5 goals scored – we see the best value in betting on a turbulent match.
