Preview: Osasuna vs. Barcelona - prediction, team news

Barcelona will be looking to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid when they continue their league campaign away to an improving Osasuna on Saturday night.

Ronald Koeman 's side are currently second in the table, five points behind Atletico, who have a game in hand, while Osasuna's recent impressive run has seen them rise into 12th position.

Match preview

© Reuters

Osasuna will head into Saturday's contest in impressive form, having picked up nine points from their last four matches, including a 1-0 victory away to Alaves last weekend.

Los Rojillos had been sliding down the table in the early stages of 2021, but they are currently 12th in the division, only two points behind 10th-placed Athletic Bilbao on the same number of games.

Osasuna have found it difficult to score goals this season, netting just 23 in their 25 league matches, but they have conceded only 33 times, which is strong considering their position in the table.

Jagoba Arrasate 's side, who finished 10th in La Liga last season, have been inconsistent on their own patch this term, though, collecting just 15 points from 12 matches.

The four-time Segunda Division winners suffered a 4-0 loss when they travelled to Camp Nou at the end of November, but the points were shared in a 2-2 draw when the pair last locked horns at Estadio El Sadar.

© Reuters

Barca, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 3-0 win over Sevilla in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final contest, which saw them advance to the final courtesy of a 3-2 aggregate score.

Koeman's team also beat Sevilla 2-0 in the league last weekend to move onto 53 points for the season, five points behind leaders Atletico, who still have a game in hand.

Atletico and third-placed Real Madrid will lock horns on Sunday afternoon, meaning that it could be an important weekend for Barca as they look to close the gap on Diego Simeone 's side.

The Catalan giants have had their problems this season but will enter the clash with Osasuna off the back of three straight wins, where they have not conceded a single goal, and there have also been suggestions that Lionel Messi could be ready to sign a new deal with the club.

Three of Barca's four league defeats this season have come on their travels, though, and they have not won at Estadio El Sadar in Spain's top flight since December 2016.

Osasuna La Liga form: WLWWLW

Osasuna form (all competitions): LLWWLW

Barcelona La Liga form: WWWDWW

Barcelona form (all competitions): WLDWWW

Team News

© Reuters

Osasuna will again be without the services of Facundo Roncaglia and Chimy Avila for this weekend's contest, while Darko Brasanac, Ruben Martinez and Inigo Perez remain doubts.

Head coach Arrasate could look to bring in an extra midfielder following last weekend's win over Alaves, with Jon Moncayola potentially coming into the side for Ante Budimir.

Enric Gallego and Kike Barja are options for the final third of the field, but Jonathan Calleri should lead the line with support from Roberto Torres and Ruben Garcia.

As for Barca, Philippe Coutinho, Ansu Fati and Sergi Roberto will all definitely be absent once again, while Miralem Pjanic and Ronald Araujo remain doubts for the contest.

Koeman is expected to make changes from Wednesday's Copa del Rey clash, with Antoine Griezmann and Trincao potentially featuring in the final third of the field.

Jordi Alba and Sergino Dest were wing-backs against Sevilla but could revert to the full-back positions for this game, while Pedri should also start despite only just being cleared from injury for Wednesday's match.

Osasuna possible starting lineup:

Herrera; Vidal, Aridane, D Garcia, Cruz; Torro, Oier, Moncayola; Torres, Calleri, R Garcia

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

Ter Stegen; Dest, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Pedri, Busquets, De Jong; Trincao, Messi, Griezmann

We say: Osasuna 0-2 Barcelona

Barca have been impressive in recent matches and will be determined to put another three points on the board this weekend ahead of the second leg of their last-16 Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain; Osasuna have shown a lot of improvement, but we are expecting Koeman's side to triumph.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting 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.