Barcelona vs Osasuna

Runaway La Liga leaders Barcelona entertain European hopefuls Osasuna to Spotify Camp Nou in an exciting midweek contest.

Barcelona bounced back from a disheartening 2-1 defeat at Rayo Vallecano with an emphatic 4-0 triumph over 10-man Real Betis last weekend, maintaining a cruising 11-point lead at the league summit. Despite that thumping victory, it was otherwise an unpleasant April for La Liga champions-elect (W3, D2, L2) as they waved goodbye to the Copa del Rey title and went back-to-back home matches without scoring (D1, L1). That said, Camp Nou has been a fortress in 2022/23, with Barcelona heading into the final stretch as the only team in Europe’s top-five leagues yet to lose a top-flight game at home (W12, D3). Defensive solidity has provided a backbone for Barcelona’s stellar home form, with Xavi Hernandez’s high-flyers conceding a league-low two goals across 15 home league outings to date.

In the meantime, Osasuna slipped to a morale-damaging 2-0 home defeat to Real Sociedad at the weekend, surrendering a two-match winning league streak and derailing their chances of securing a long-overdue European finish. With a blockbuster Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid waiting in the wings, Jagoba Arrasate could go for an understrength side in Catalonia, where they’ve suffered eight losses in their last nine top-flight visits (W1). Despite overcoming perennial relegation candidates Cadiz 1-0 on their most recent La Liga travel to arrest a three-game winless run on the road (D1, L2), Osasuna’s bid to win consecutive away league fixtures for the first time this season looks far-fetched. Indeed, ‘Los Rojillos’ have not only failed to keep Barcelona at bay in their last ten league H2Hs, but they conceded an average of 3.4 goals per game in that sequence.