Preview: Osasuna vs. Athletic Bilbao - prediction, team news, lineups

Athletic Bilbao will be looking to make it back-to-back victories in La Liga when they continue their 2020-21 campaign away to Osasuna on Saturday evening.

Gaizka Garitano 's side will enter this weekend's contest off the back of a 2-0 home win over Levante, while Osasuna shared the points with Eibar in their last match.

Match preview

© Reuters

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, impressing many with their performances throughout the campaign.

Jagoba Arrasate 's team have made a solid start to the new season, picking up seven points from their five matches to sit 11th in the table, boasting the same number of points as Barcelona, although the Catalan giants have only played four times this term.

Osasuna lost back-to-back games against Getafe and Levante towards the end of September but beat Celta Vigo on October 4 before sharing the points away to Eibar last weekend.

Los Rojillos will be determined to pick up a positive result on Saturday considering that three of their next five in La Liga are against Atletico Madrid, Sevilla and Barca during a tough run of matches.

© Reuters

Athletic, meanwhile, will enter Saturday's contest off the back of a 2-0 win over Levante, with Alex Berenguer and Inaki Williams on the scoresheet for the Basque outfit.

An inconsistent start to the campaign has seen Garitano's side win two but lose three of their first five matches, leaving them in 14th position in the table, just two points outside of the relegation zone.

Interestingly, the home team has not actually won this particular fixture since August 2013; four of the last five matches have brought away victories, with Athletic recording a 2-1 win in the corresponding game last term.

The eight-time La Liga champions finished 11th in Spain's top flight last season, and it is difficult to imagine them pushing for a European spot in 2020-21 due to the strength of the sides around them.

Osasuna La Liga form: WLLWDD

Athletic Bilbao La Liga form: LWLLW

Team News

© Reuters

Osasuna's absentee list is fairly substantial at the moment, with Ante Budimir, Jonathan Calleri, Lucas Torro and Chimy Avila all unavailable for selection this weekend.

Roberto Torres and Darko Brasanac are also doubts with hamstring and shoulder issues respectively, while Jon Moncayola is suspended, having picked up a late red card in the clash with Eibar.

Arrasate will be forced to make changes from the goalless draw last weekend, with Jony and Adrian both expected to come into the XI, but Enric Gallego should keep his spot in attack.

Athletic will be without the services of defender Yuri Berchiche due to coronavirus, while Kenan Kodro is also definitely out of the contest with a muscular problem.

The visitors also have concerns over the fitness of Oscar de Marcos and Ibai Gomez, meaning that Garitano does not have too many options for change this weekend.

It would not be a surprise to see the same XI that lined up against Levante take to the field for this match, with Williams again being supported by Berenguer, Raul Garcia and Iker Muniain in the final third.

Osasuna possible starting lineup:

Herrera; Roncaglia, Aridane, D Garcia, Perez; R Garcia, Jony, Oier, Barja; Gallego, Adrian

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:

Unai; Capa, Yeray, Martinez, Balenziaga; D Garcia, Lopez; Berenguer, R Garcia, Muniain; Williams

We say: Osasuna 1-1 Athletic Bilbao

Athletic will be boosted by the fact that Osasuna are missing some key players, but we are finding it difficult to back the Basque outfit with any real confidence due to their inconsistency. Osasuna have picked up four points from their last two league matches, and we are expecting a low-scoring draw in this contest.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a draw or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.