Our prediction for this Primera Division match:
Real Sociedad will be aiming to stay in the Conference League berth when they take on Osasuna in the Primera Division round 24. The Basques have been struggling in front of goal of late, but they are still seen as favourites to beat los Rojillos on home soil. Both Alvaro Odriozola and Sheraldo Becker limped off with injuries in a goalless draw with Girona, with Jon Aramburu and Ander Barrenetxea likely to step up.
Osasuna, on the other hand, failed to impress in back-to-back defeats to Barcelona and Celta Vigo. As Jagoba Arrasate’s troops experienced all sorts of problems at the back in the 3-0 loss to Os Celeste, we predict that the hosts are going to pick up all three points from the match. Ezequiel Avila misses out with an ankle injury, but he should be the only absentee in the visiting team.
Highlighted Player (Mikel Oyarzabal):
Intelligence is not an attribute you will find in Mikel Oyarzabal’s stats with Real Sociedad but this tricky winger is a highly knowledgeable winger who will use both brain and feet while playing. For a player born in Eibar, who made his first steps in his hometown club, it was always going to be a choice between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad for Oyarzabal.
La Real saw their chance and grabbed this gem of a player at a young age, helping him develop into a proper professional throughout their youth ranks. Mikel Oyarzabal has spent the entirety of his senior career with the Basque behemoths where he’d use his ability to fill in a number of positions up top much to his own benefit.
Oyarzabal’s positioning and movement are work of a tactical genius, whereas it is his nous to find details to exploit that best define him as a player. Having come through the youth categories of the Spanish national team, Oyarzabal also has a senior cap next to his name. It was in 2016 that he also represented the Basque region, scoring on his debut to cap a 3-1 win over Tunisia.
Highlighted Team (Osasuna):
Osasuna are a Basque football team that plays in Spanish La Liga. Los Rojillos are based in Pamplona and and the club were founded in 1920. Estadio El Sadar has been the home of Osasuna since 1967 and the capacity of the stadium is 19,800.
The colour of Osasuna’s home kit is red, while the team’s shorts are navy blue. Los Rojillos dropped to the Segunda Division at the end of the 2013/2014 La Liga campaign, but they did not spend too many time in the Spanish second tier. The club returned to the elite division in 2016 after beating Girona in the play-offs.
Osasuna made it to the Spanish Copa del Rey final in 2005, but they eventually lost to Real Betis after extra time in the title game. The meaning of the word Osasuna is “health” in Basque and it is used in a sense of strength.