Our prediction for this Primera Division match:
Monday’s football game between Villarreal and Osasuna will bring down the curtain on day 9 of the new La Liga campaign. The Yellow Submarine aim to recover from a 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad, and we are positive that they will adopt an attack-minded approach against los Rojillos. Jose Luis Morales, who scored a hat-trick in the Conference League win over Austria Wien, is pushing for a start, while there are no fresh injury worries in the home team.
Osasuna, on the other hand, experienced all sorts of problems at the back in a 2-1 loss to Valencia, and seeing that both Unai Garcia and Ruben Pena are banned for the match, we predict that the hosts will pick up all three points from the match. Villarreal suffered a loss in each of their last three meetings with Osasuna, but we believe that the time has come for the Yellow Submarine to put an end to the negative trend.
Highlighted Player (Aissa Mandi):
Aissa Mandi is a product of Reims’ youth school. After playing eight matches for Reims II in the 2009/2010 season, he started playing for the first team in 2010. Mandi made his Reims debut against Le Havre on 20 August, 2010 and he remained at Stade Auguste Delaune until 30 June, 2016, when he decided to join Spanish side Real Betis.
The Algeria international, who was born in Chalons-en-Champagne, France, signed a five-year contract with los Beticos which expires on 30 June, 2021. His main position is centre back, but he is capable of playing as a full back as well. The right-footed defender made his Algeria debut on 5 March, 2014 and he helped the Algerian national team keep a clean sheet in a 2-0 win over Slovenia.
Mandi impressed at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, but he scored his first goal for Algeria in a 3-3 draw with Ethiopia in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. He represented Algeria at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations as well.
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.