Barcelona will be looking to snap out of a recent poor run of form as they host Osasuna in a midweek La Liga fixture. Although the Catalans have been out of sorts lately, they should still have too much quality for Osasuna, who are poor on their travels.
Barcelona are coming off a disappointing 5-3 home defeat to Villarreal in their previous La Liga fixture. They had fought back from two goals down to lead but somehow contrived to concede three goals in the final six minutes.
The Blaugrana’s campaign appears to be unravelling having lost to Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Super Cup before losing 4-2 to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey. A leaky defence has played a major role in their recent problems as they have conceded 16 goals in their last five matches across all competitions.
Barcelona’s recent struggles mean that manager Xavi has announced he will be leaving the club at the end of the season. The players will be keen to make the final games count, and they do have something to build on having gone unbeaten in eight of their last 10 La Liga matches, claiming six wins in that run.
Osasuna travel to Barcelona off the back of a 1-1 draw at Sevilla last time out in la Liga. They fell behind midway through the second half but struck back after the restart through Ante Budimir.
The result highlights Osasuna’s inconsistency this season as they have picked up just four wins from their last 14 matches across all competitions. Sitting 12th on the standings, Jagoba Arrasate’s men are heading to that awkward stage of the season where they are not in any relegation trouble and are not in contention for anything further up the table.
Osasuna have also found things difficult on their travels and are winless in their last six La Liga matches. They have been beaten four times in that run, including a 4-0 defeat to Real Madrid.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have installed Barcelona as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 1/3 by bet365. A victory for Osasuna is valued at 9/1 by BetVictor while Unibet is offering odds of 19/4 for a draw.
Head to head
Barcelona have a 28-6 advantage with 10 draws from 44 previous matches against Osasuna. The Catalans have already beaten their visitors twice this season, claiming a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture in September before earning a 2-0 win in the Super Cup in January.
Players to watch
Robert Lewandowski has four goals in his last seven matches across all competitions and will be the one to watch for Barcelona. The striker has also found the net in the last two meetings with Osasuna and is priced at 5/6 by bet365 to maintain his scoring run.
Ante Budimir continues to impress for Osasuna and scored his 10th goal of the season last time out at Sevilla. The forward is priced at 3/1 by Unibet to get on the score sheet on Wednesday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Barcelona have been involved in a number of high scoring fixtures lately and Wednesday’s clash could be set for a similar outcome. Over 4.5 goals is priced at 17/4 with BetVictor while bet365 is offering odds of 13/8 for over 3.5 goals.
With Barcelona priced at minimal odds for a straight victory, a win and both years to score could be considered at 21/10 by BoyleSports.
This La Liga match between Barcelona and Osasuna will be played on Jan 30, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Osasuna prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
