La Liga | Gameweek 14

Nov 24, 2024 at 1pm UK

Estadio El Sadar

Osasunavs.Villarreal

Match preview

Osasuna have won six, drawn three and lost four of their 13 La Liga meetings this season, which has earned them 21 points. This is enough for fifth spot in the table, only three points behind fourth-placed Villarreal.

Before the international break, Los Rojillos recorded three straight wins over Real Sociedad, Osasuna and Chiclana. However, they suffered a 4-0 defeat to a wounded Los Blancos outfit.

Vicente Moreno's side will be looking to get back on track this weekend. They've been excellent at home this season, with the second-best record, having collected 16 points from their seven matches in front of their own supporters.

Osasuna finished 11th in Spain's top flight last season, but they were seventh in 2022-23 and seem like they can claim a similar spot this term. There have been plenty of encouraging signs in the opening months of the season.

The Pamplona team haven't won any of their last four La Liga matches against Villarreal, losing three times along the way. However, the corresponding match during the 2023-24 season ended in a 1-1 draw.

Villarreal, on the other hand, will be coming into this game on a three-game winning streak, having beaten Real Valladolid, Poblense and Alavés. They've been on a roll since a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid at the start of October.

Marcelino's side have won seven, drawn three and lost two of their 12 La Liga matches this season. They've picked up 24 points and are just three points behind second-placed Real Madrid after the same number of games.

Atlético Madrid are in third place, just two points ahead and with one more game played. It's been a strong start to the campaign for the Yellow Submarine, who have scored 23 times in their 12 matches.

Marcelino's team are the third-highest scorers in La Liga this season, behind Barcelona and Real Madrid. However, they've conceded 19 times and will need to tighten up defensively to claim a top-four spot.

Villarreal finished in eighth place in Spain's top flight last season, so they won't be playing European football in 2024-25. This could help them in their attempts to return to Europe next season.

Recent Performance

Osasuna La Liga form:WDLWWL

Osasuna form (all competitions):DLWWWL

Villarreal La Liga form:WWLDWW

Villarreal form (all competitions):WLDWWW

Team News

Osasuna have a couple of injury concerns ahead of their match against Villarreal. Iker Benito and Kike Barja are struggling, but Juan Cruz should be back in the squad after missing out against Real Madrid.

Head coach Moreno isn't getting too stressed about the heavy defeat to Real Madrid last time out, so it's likely we'll see the same starting XI take to the field for the clash with Villarreal.

Ante Budimir has scored six La Liga goals this season and will again play in the middle, while there should be spots in the final third of the field for both Bryan Zaragoza and Ruben Pena.

Villarreal have also been hit with the news that Ayoze Pérez is facing more time out with the muscular problem he suffered during the November international break with Spain.

Perez has scored seven times in nine La Liga matches this season, so his absence will be a big loss. Also out are Pape Gueye, Alex Baena, Ilias Akhomach, Nicolas Pepe, Juan Foyth and Alfonso Pedraza.

There'll be a few changes to the side that started against Alavés because of the list of absentees, so it'll be interesting to see who gets a start. Yeremy Pino, Juan Bernat, Thierno Barry and Santi Comesana are likely to be among them.

Possible starting lineup

Osasuna possible starting lineup:

Herrera; Areso, Catena, Boyomo, Bretones; Moncayola, Torro, Oroz; Pena, Budimir, Zaragoza

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

Conde; Femenia, Albiol, Costa, S Cardona; Pino, Comesana, Parejo, Suarez, Bernat; Barry