Barcelona arrive in Pamplona on Saturday evening carrying an 11-point lead over Real Madrid at the summit of the La Liga table, with Hansi Flick’s side having accumulated 85 points from 33 matches this season. A victory against Osasuna would bring the Catalan club within striking distance of confirming back-to-back league titles, potentially setting up a title-clinching moment in next week’s Clásico against their fiercest rivals.
Osasuna, currently ninth in the table and two points adrift of sixth-placed Getafe, enter this fixture with European qualification still firmly within their sights. Alessio Lisci’s team head into the weekend on the back of a 2-1 win over Sevilla, though they have managed only one victory in their previous four league outings. That said, they have conceded defeat just once in that stretch, underlining the resilience that has made them a difficult proposition at Estadio El Sadar.
The head-to-head record between these two clubs is heavily weighted in Barcelona‘s favour — Osasuna have won just 21 of their previous 100 meetings. Earlier this season, Barcelona claimed a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture. However, Osasuna do hold a significant recent result over their visitors, having beaten Barcelona 4-2 at home in September 2024, a result that will provide motivation for Lisci’s players ahead of kick-off.
On the team news front, Osasuna will be without Iker Benito (knee) and Victor Munoz (muscle), while the availability of Aimar Oroz, who is carrying a muscle problem, remains subject to a pre-match assessment. Should Oroz be passed fit, he is expected to operate in the number 10 role, with Ruben Garcia likely to start on the left flank. Ante Budimir, who has scored 16 goals in 32 La Liga appearances this season, will again lead the attack.
Barcelona will be without Lamine Yamal, who is sidelined for the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury, and Jules Koundé serves a suspension after picking up a yellow card in the 2-0 win over Getafe — the result that extended their winning run in the league to nine consecutive matches. On a more positive note, Raphinha and Marc Bernal have both returned to training following injury lay-offs and are expected to feature in the squad. Andreas Christensen continues to make progress in his recovery from a serious knee injury, though Saturday’s fixture is expected to come too soon for the Denmark international.
Barcelona’s offensive output this season has been remarkable — the club has found the net in every La Liga match this campaign, a run of 53 consecutive scoring games across all competitions. That consistency in front of goal remains one of the key factors that separates Flick’s side from the rest of the division.
Possible starting lineups for the fixture are as follows — Osasuna: Herrera; Rosier, Catena, Boyomo, Galan; I. Munoz, Moncayola; Moro, Oroz, Ruben Garcia; Budimir. Barcelona: J. Garcia; E. Garcia, Cubarsi, Martin, Cancelo; Gavi, Pedri; Bardghji, Olmo, Fermin; Torres.
Despite Osasuna’s capacity to exploit the high defensive line that Barcelona have employed throughout the season, the weight of form, quality, and motivation points firmly toward a visiting victory. According to reports, a correct score prediction of Osasuna 1-2 Barcelona is considered the most likely outcome, with both teams expected to find the net and the total goals tally anticipated to exceed 2.5.
