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Preview: Barcelona look to press home their advantage vs. Osasuna

Preview: Barcelona look to press home their advantage vs. Osasuna

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Barcelona host Osasuna on Saturday afternoon as they hope to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga.

By Matt Smith

Osasuna will be searching for their first goal away at Barcelona since 2020, when they secured a 2-1 victory.

These two sides met back in March, and it was Barcelona who took the three points with a comfortable home victory. Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski, and Dani Olmo bagged the goals that day.

Team news

Barcelona will, once again, be without Gavi, Dani Olmo, and Ronald Araújo. Other than that, Hansi Flick could have a fully fit squad to choose from for this game, as they look to continue their impressive run of form.

Iker Benito will be unavailable for Osasuna for this one as he continues his recovery from a long-term knee injury. Other than that, there shouldn’t be any fresh injury concerns for the away side.

The best form of defence is attack

Barcelona are sitting comfortably at the top of the table, with a four-point gap over second-place Real Madrid. Flick’s side have been far from perfect, however, with no team in the top half conceding more goals than them this season. 

Barcelona have conceded the 6th highest xG in LaLiga

Barcelona have conceded an incredible number of chances, considering they are top of the table, but their phenomenal attack has papered over the cracks. The Catalan outfit have scored 2.9 goals per game on average and are one of the most exciting teams to watch in Europe, so I’m not sure Flick will be too disheartened at their defensive record.

Creativity is Osasuna’s Achilles heel

For a side battling towards the bottom, Osasuna have looked resolute defensively, but it’s the other end of the pitch where their difficulties lie. They’ve created just 21 big chances in the league this season, with only Sevilla creating fewer, scoring 14 times along the way.

Defensively, Osasuna have looked solid, conceding just 1.2 goals per game, fewer than their opponents Barcelona. However, as mentioned, they’ve been let down going forward, which means they sit in 15th place heading into the weekend.

Ferran Torres a surprise package

Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, and Marcus Rashford often get the plaudits for Barcelona’s strong attacking display, but Ferran Torres’ performances have gone under the radar. Of late, the Spanish forward has struck four times in the last three games, taking his goal tally to 13 for the season (all comps).

Torres is currently Barcelona’s top goalscorer with 11 goals in LaLiga, three more than veteran striker Robert Lewandowski. After being in and out of the side under Flick, Torres could now have made the striker position his own.

Prediction

It’s difficult to see past a Barcelona victory, considering their form and their impressive record at home to Osasuna. We’re going for a 3-1 win.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the LaLiga with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Preview: Barcelona look to press home their advantage vs. Osasuna

Barcelona host Osasuna on Saturday afternoon as they hope to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga.

By Matt Smith

Osasuna will be searching for their first goal away at Barcelona since 2020, when they secured a 2-1 victory.

These two sides met back in March, and it was Barcelona who took the three points with a comfortable home victory. Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski, and Dani Olmo bagged the goals that day.

Team news

Barcelona will, once again, be without Gavi, Dani Olmo, and Ronald Araújo. Other than that, Hansi Flick could have a fully fit squad to choose from for this game, as they look to continue their impressive run of form.

Iker Benito will be unavailable for Osasuna for this one as he continues his recovery from a long-term knee injury. Other than that, there shouldn’t be any fresh injury concerns for the away side.

The best form of defence is attack

Barcelona are sitting comfortably at the top of the table, with a four-point gap over second-place Real Madrid. Flick’s side have been far from perfect, however, with no team in the top half conceding more goals than them this season. 

Barcelona have conceded the 6th highest xG in LaLiga

Barcelona have conceded an incredible number of chances, considering they are top of the table, but their phenomenal attack has papered over the cracks. The Catalan outfit have scored 2.9 goals per game on average and are one of the most exciting teams to watch in Europe, so I’m not sure Flick will be too disheartened at their defensive record.

Creativity is Osasuna’s Achilles heel

For a side battling towards the bottom, Osasuna have looked resolute defensively, but it’s the other end of the pitch where their difficulties lie. They’ve created just 21 big chances in the league this season, with only Sevilla creating fewer, scoring 14 times along the way.

Defensively, Osasuna have looked solid, conceding just 1.2 goals per game, fewer than their opponents Barcelona. However, as mentioned, they’ve been let down going forward, which means they sit in 15th place heading into the weekend.

Ferran Torres a surprise package

Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, and Marcus Rashford often get the plaudits for Barcelona’s strong attacking display, but Ferran Torres’ performances have gone under the radar. Of late, the Spanish forward has struck four times in the last three games, taking his goal tally to 13 for the season (all comps).

Torres is currently Barcelona’s top goalscorer with 11 goals in LaLiga, three more than veteran striker Robert Lewandowski. After being in and out of the side under Flick, Torres could now have made the striker position his own.

Prediction

It’s difficult to see past a Barcelona victory, considering their form and their impressive record at home to Osasuna. We’re going for a 3-1 win.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the LaLiga with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.