Osasuna Vs. Real Madrid Prediction: Los Blancos' Important Visit To El Awareness

Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid's hero of victory in a crucial match (photo: x @realmadrid)

JAKARTA - Defending La Liga champions Real Madrid will try to get back on track when they travel to El Sadar on Saturday 15 February to face Osasuna. Los Blancos are currently top of the La Liga standings with 50 points from 23 matches, while Osasuna is in ninth place with 31 points from 23 matches this season.

Osasuna has won seven wins, ten draws, and six defeats to 23 league games this season. With 31 points, they are in ninth place, only four points adrift of Rayo Vallecano in sixth place fighting for a European ticket.

Vicente Moreno's side will enter this match after a 1-1 draw against Mallorca. Enzo Boyomo saved a point in the 94th minute after Vedat Muriqi gave Mallorca the lead with a penalty spot in the 81st minute.

Osasuna are now unbeaten in the last four league games, although three of them ended in a draw. However, they won 2-1 over Real Sociedad in their last home game earlier this month.

Despite finishing in 11th place last season, Osasuna finished seventh in 2022-23 and is now looking at the top six for the first time since finishing fourth in 2005-06. This means that there is still much to be fought for in the rest of the season.

However, Osasuna has a poor record against Real Madrid, with five consecutive defeats in all competitions, including a 0-4 defeat when the two teams met in Bernabeu last November.

On the other hand, Real Madrid came with high confidence after winning a dramatic 3-2 win over Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs on Wednesday night. Los Blancos were 1-0 and 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium, but managed to equalize before Jude Bellingham scored the winning goal in the final minute.

Even so, Madrid have only picked up one point from the last two matches in La Liga, losing 1-0 to Espanyol in early February and drawing 1-1 against Atletico Madrid at the Madrid derby last week.

Carlo Ancelotti and his team are now top of the table with one point more than Atletico in second and two points above Barcelona in third place. Tight competition for the title is predicted to be fierce until the end of the season.

Madrid have their second best away record in La Liga this season with 22 points from 12 matches, despite winning only half of the game. Meanwhile, Osasuna has a fifth best home record in the competition.

Osasuna is likely to still lose Raul Garcia due to an ankle injury, while Enzo Boyomo is absent due to a yellow card accumulation. Jorge Herrando is likely to enter the starting XI, but coach Vicente Moreno may not make many changes.

Bryan Zaragoza and Ruben Garcia will fill the wing, while Ante Budimir, who has scored 12 goals in La Liga this season, will again spearhead.

Meanwhile Madrid had to face the absence of several key players such as Lucas Vazquez, David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao, and Dani Carvajal due to injury. However, they did not experience any new problems after the match against Manchester City.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti is likely to keep the same line of players, with Raul Asencio and Aurelien Tchouameni on the back. Dani Ceballos will continue to gain trust in midfield, while Luka Modric may have to settle for sitting on the bench.

Brahim Diaz appeared as a substitute against City, but he was not expected to enter the starting XI. Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, and Jude Bellingham will return to being the mainstay on the front lines.

Although Osasuna has a solid home record this season, Real Madrid are still seeded for victory. Los Blancos are aware of the importance of three points to maintain the top position, and they are predicted to win a narrow victory in this match.

Osasuna:Herrera; Areso, Herrando, Catena, Cruz; Ruben Garcia, Moncawala, Torro, Oroz, Zaragoza; Budimir

Real Madrid:Courtois; Valverde, Tchouameni, Asencio, Mendy; Camavinga, Ceballos; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe

Osasuna 1-2 Real Madrid