FC Barcelona vs Osasuna: a new chance for revenge to maintain the lead in LaLiga

This Saturday, FC Barcelona hosts Osasuna at the Estadio Olímpico Lluís Companys (21:00 hours) in matchday 27 of LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25. Hansi Flick's team arrives in good form despite the demanding calendar, with an unbeaten streak of 16 matches in all competitions and six consecutive victories in LaLiga. However, victory is mandatory to maintain the lead regardless of what Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid do on Sunday.

Currently, Barça is leading with 57 points, one more than the 'colchoneros' and three above 'La Casa Blanca'. The azulgrana team started the year by drawing at Getafe (1-1), but then added victories against Valencia (7-1), Alavés (1-0), Sevilla (1-4), Rayo (1-0), Las Palmas (1-2), and Real Sociedad (4-0) to overcome a 7-point deficit in just one month of competition. The victory against the donostiarras last Sunday was the first as the tournament leader this 2025.

📊 THE THREE KEYS TO THE MATCH

• 🟡 Rotations - Barça will once again rely on its squad depth, with an eye on the Champions League.
• 🟢 Streak - Barça remains unbeaten in 2025 with 16 matches in all competitions, with 14 victories and 2 draws.
• 🔴 Injuries - Osasuna will be without their '10', Aimar Oroz, who scored a brace last matchday.

Flick will rely on the bench to maintain the lead

Against Osasuna, Hansi Flick has once again left the door open for several tweaks to his starting XI. With less than 72 hours difference from the rematch in the Champions League against Benfica, the coach understands the need to rest several of his key players with the most minutes this season. Pedri González (3,112'), Raphinha (3,262') and Jules Koundé (3,365') are the most used players by the German coach, and of them, the only one who should remain in the lineup this Saturday is the French full-back.

This will allow names like Marc Casadó and Fermín López to regain prominence after a few weeks in which they have lost some ground due to starting positions. The '17' just scored his first professional goal against Real Sociedad but was back on the bench in Lisbon. The onublense, on the other hand, did not have a good night in Canaria against Las Palmas and will try to regain the rhythm he had before his expulsion in Sevilla. 

Alongside them should be, once again, Dani Olmo who had a great first half against Real, causing the expulsion of Elustondo that resolved the match in the 17th minute for the culés. The Terrassa native, however, was the one sacrificed after Pau Cubarsí's red card against Benfica and hopes to redeem himself against an Osasuna he could not face in the first round due to a muscle injury.

• 🟢 🟢 🟢 🟢 🟢🟢 Barça has accumulated 18 of the last 18 points available. The azulgrana team has won 6 consecutive matches. In the last 6, they have 6 victories, 0 draws, and 0 losses, with 19 goals scored and 2 conceded.

Lamine will seek to break his 'curse' in LaLiga against Osasuna

In attack, Barça will once again count on Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski as their main offensive cards. The Pole just scored against Real Sociedad his 21st goal in LaLiga, extending his lead to 4 goals over Kylian Mbappé (17). Lamine, on the other hand, still has not been able to score in the tournament since the stunning goal he scored against Real Madrid in matchday 11 (0-4).

The precedent that excites the Mataró native in breaking his league curse is that, in the first round, he did manage to score against his Saturday rival. The '19' scored Barça's consolation goal at El Sadar (4-2), a match where he was a substitute along with Raphinha. The Brazilian was one of the heroes on Wednesday in Lisbon, scoring the winning goal, but is expected to rest against the 'rojillos' in what would be just his second benching of the season.

Barça will only have three absences for matchday 27 of LaLiga

For the match of matchday 27 of LaLiga, Barça hopes to recover Ansu Fati, who missed the match against Real due to physical problems, along with Gavi, who missed the match against Benfica due to a fever. The '6' also did not see minutes against Las Palmas and the 'txuri-urdin' team. For the Andalusian, his last league match as a starter was against Rayo (1-0), where he played 66 minutes.

Thus, Marc-André ter Stegen, Marc Bernal, and Andreas Christensen will be the only confirmed absences for the duel against Osasuna. The first two are ruled out for the rest of the season, while the situation of the Dane is really complex. The defender returned to training with the group in January, but has not played since August and has fallen back into the culé infirmary, this time due to a problem in his right soleus.

Osasuna, with a very negative recent past in Barcelona

For Osasuna, on the other hand, the outlook is not encouraging for their visit to Barcelona. Although Vicente Moreno's team defeated the culés in the first round at El Sadar (4-2), the recent history on Catalan soil heavily favors the azulgrana team. The Pamplona team returned to the First Division in the 2019/20 season, in which they managed to strike at Camp Nou on matchday 37, already with the title secured in favor of Real Madrid.

The 'rojillos' won 1-2 in an empty culé temple due to pandemic restrictions. In the following season, Barça avenged themselves with a comfortable victory (4-0), a result that would be repeated in 21/22. In the last two visits to Catalonia, Osasuna lost by the minimum (1-0), both against the team led by Xavi Hernández. In the duel of the 23/24 season, Vitor Roque scored the winning goal for the culés. Thus, Barça has four consecutive home victories against their Saturday rival, with a tally of 10 goals scored and none conceded.

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