Low-scoring evening in Andalusia?
Sevilla has a packed schedule at the moment. In addition to league action, the home side are also involved in the Europa League.
In the competition, the “Nervionenses” were challenged in Eindhoven last Thursday and recorded a 2-0 defeat against PSV Eindhoven in the second leg of the intermediate round. However, they were able to get over this defeat as they still reached the next round thanks to a 3-0 win in the first leg.
The visiting Basques are once again in a state of disrepair, with the 2005 Spanish runners-up having waited five rounds for their next La Liga treble.
With a win, the hosts could now also move to within two points of CA in mid-table. For the clash between Sevilla and Osasuna, the tip aims for less than 2.5 goals.
Sevilla – Statistics & current form
Last season’s fourth-placed La Liga side have rediscovered their home strength. The Andalusians have won all of their past four home encounters, making it all season-long home wins within this flashback (4-3-4).
Admittedly, though, the schedule has been comparatively light on the victories, as the five-time Copa del Rey winners have mostly faced teams from the basement of the table, such as neighbours Cadiz and Elche.
Will the home side prevail again?
Nevertheless, the odds on a win for the hosts in the showdown between Sevilla and Osasuna also look good, especially as the visitors, as mentioned at the start, are currently in poor form.
In addition, the 1946 champions still have a score to settle from their recent cup defeat and will therefore be extra motivated, although the legs of the “Blanquirrojos” will not be completely fresh due to the additional match in the Europa League.
Another factor in favour of the prediction is that the hosts’ offensive performance in front of their own fans has improved noticeably recently. Eight of the twelve goals scored at home this season have come in the last four home games won!
Last games played by Sevilla:
Europa League Final Stage
24/02/2023 – PSV Eindhoven 2 – 0 Sevilla FC
La Liga
19/02/2023 – Rayo Vallecano 1 – 1 FC Sevilla
Europa League Final Stage
17/02/2023 – Sevilla FC 3 – 0 PSV Eindhoven
La Liga
12/02/2023 – Sevilla FC 2 – 0 Mallorca
06/02/2023 – FC Barcelona 3 – 0 FC Sevilla
Osasuna – Statistics & current form
Osasuna have been off the pace recently. Looking at the form table for the last five rounds of matches, it can be seen that only the completely desolate kickers from Valencia have scored less than Osasuna with three points from just as many draws, with only defeats.
The shortcoming of a harmless attack is particularly evident at the moment: only two goals have been scored by coach Jagoba Arrasate’s team in the last five league games – once again, this offensive meagreness is only undercut by Valencia.
No goals for the visitors?
In light of this, betting on a clean sheet for the home side against the footballers from the Estadio El Sadar in the clash between Sevilla and Valencia is equally worth considering.
The prediction is supported by the predominantly weak performances of Osasuna’s attack in the visiting matches. They have failed to score in five of their eleven away games and only Cadiz score less in their away games in the league.
Avila returns at striker
At least, though, Chimy Avila can return to action for the 2007 UEFA Cup semi-finalists against Sevilla. The Argentine has the best tally on last year’s tenth-placed side with seven goals and has served his suspension.
The “Rojillos” are also specialists in draws in their away matches. Already six of the eleven encounters on foreign soil have ended in a draw – the highest number in the La Liga away rankings.
Last matches played by Osasuna:
La Liga
19/02/2023 – Osasuna Pamplona 0 – 2 Real Madrid
13/02/2023 – Real Valladolid 0 – 0 Osasuna Pamplona
04/02/2023 – Espanyol 1 – 1 Osasuna Pamplona
29/01/2023 – Osasuna Pamplona 0 – 1 Atletico Madrid
Copa del Rey
26/01/2023 – Osasuna Pamplona 2 – 1 FC Sevilla
Sevilla – Osasuna Direct comparison / H2H-balance
Sevilla and Osasuna faced each other in the Copa del Rey just over a month ago, as previously mentioned. The match in the Basque Country ended with a 2-1 victory for the Pamplona kickers, albeit after extra time.
Moreover, Osasuna’s success was flattering from an objective point of view, as the record six-time Europa League winners at least performed on an equal footing. Thanks to the success, the visitors are unbeaten in three duels with the “Rojiblancos” (2-1-0).
Sevilla – Osasuna tip
In the clash between Sevilla and Osasuna, the prediction includes less than three goals by the final whistle. The visitors are weak in form and the “Hispalenses” will not ignite any offensive fireworks due to the extra game in the Europa League.
Moreover, the home games of the team of Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli are usually low-scoring anyway: Only four of the eleven matches played on home soil have ended with more than 2.5 goals.
On top, Osasuna are even more stingy with goals in their guest matches. In the eleven away games they have played so far, they have scored an average of just 1.5 goals – the lowest figure in La Liga – and only in the match at Celta Vigo in November last year did they score more than two!
The prediction is backed up by the statistics of the pairing from recent years: Only one of the past five league matches ended with more than 2.5 goals and even the recent cup match in January this year did not bring three goals within the regular playing time.
