Preview: Eibar vs. Osasuna - prediction, team news, lineups

Both Eibar and Osasuna will be looking to make it back-to-back victories in Spain's top flight when they continue their respective campaigns with a clash on Sunday.

Eibar recorded a 2-1 victory over Real Valladolid just before the international break, while Osasuna ran out 2-0 winners over Celta Vigo to move onto six points in the division.

Match preview

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Eibar have not actually played outside of La Liga since the 2013-14 campaign, while they finished ninth in 2017-18 before claiming 12th the season after during an excellent couple of years.

Jose Luis Mendilibar 's side were 14th last term, which is the position that they currently occupy in the league, with a total of four points from their opening five matches of the season.

Eibar opened their 2020-21 campaign with a goalless draw against Celta before losing their next three away to Villarreal and at home to both Athletic Bilbao and Elche.

Los Armeros ran out 2-1 winners over Valladolid before the international break, though, with Kevin Rodrigues coming up with a 90th-minute strike to secure an impressive away success.

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Osasuna, meanwhile, have picked up six points from their first four league matches of the season to occupy 11th position, recording two wins and suffering two defeats thus far.

Jagoba Arrasate 's side opened their campaign with a 2-0 win at Cadiz before losing away to Getafe and at home to Levante in their next two towards the end of September.

The month of October started in a positive fashion, though, as a 2-0 success over Celta at Estadio El Sadar was secured courtesy of goals from Facundo Roncaglia and Jonathan Calleri

Osasuna finished 10th in La Liga last season on their return to this level of football and were ultimately just four points off the Europa League spots during an impressive campaign.

Los Rojillos ran out 2-0 winners when they travelled to Eibar for the reverse match last season, while they also recorded a 3-2 victory in this particular fixture in October 2016.

Eibar La Liga form: DLLLW

Osasuna La Liga form: WLLW

Team News

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Eibar will be without the services of central midfielder Papa Diop, with the 34-year-old picking up a straight red card during the victory over Valladolid before the international break.

Sergio Cubero and Cote are also on the sidelines through injury, but Pedro Bigas and Recio could recover from knocks to make themselves available for the contest.

Yoshinori Muto joined Eibar on loan from Newcastle United over the summer, and the 28-year-old should make his fourth appearance for the Spanish club in this match.

As for Osasuna, Chimy Avila, Darko Brasanac and Brandon are all on the sidelines through injury, while Roberto Torres faces a late fitness test on a muscular problem.

Aridane Hernandez has overcome a recent issue, though, and should return to the heart of the defence alongside David Garcia, while Roncaglia is likely to again feature at right-back.

Calleri's goal against Celta last time out could see the striker keep his spot in the side, while Enric Gallego and Ruben Garcia are also expected to feature in the final third of the field.

Eibar possible starting lineup:

Dmitrovic; Correa, Oliveira, Burgos, Soares; Inui, Exposito, Alvarez, Rodrigues; Garcia, Muto

Osasuna possible starting lineup:

Herrera; Roncaglia, D Garcia, Hernandez, Cruz; R Garcia, Moncayola, Sanjurjo, Jony; Gallego, Calleri

We say: Eibar 1-2 Osasuna

Osasuna are undefeated in their last eight matches against Eibar in all competitions, and we fancy the visitors to triumph on Sunday. Eibar have put in some encouraging displays this term, but Osasuna have a lot of quality in the forward positions, and we are backing Arrasate's side to collect all three points.

Top betting tip

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