Barcelona vs Osasuna Prediction: Osasuna can keep this one close

Barcelona returned from Portugal on Wednesday night with a lead and playing Osasuna at home is certainly not the worst game to sandwich between two legs of a Champions League tie. This one kicks off at 20:00 on Saturday night and will be broadcast live on La Liga TV.

Mark Sochon as per usual is in situ with the Betfred Insights look at this one. Check out his Barcelona vs Osasuna Predictions in his full match preview for us below...

*You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com

Following Real Madrid's defeat last weekend, Barcelona are now the odds-on favourites to win La Liga. This has been a title race of many twists and turns though, and this weekend Barça face a side that inflicted a 4-2 defeat on them earlier this term.  

Hansi Flick had a perfect record of seven wins from seven in the Spanish top flight when he took his side to El Sadar back in late September. He rested Raphinha and Lamine Yamal that day and paid the price against an inspired Osasuna side.  

More than five months on, Flick may feel he again needs to rest key players with this match falling in between the two legs of their Champions League round-of-16 tie against Benfica, and just a week before a crucial top-of-the-table clash against Atlético Madrid.  

There are likely to be some tired legs in the Barça camp after they were forced to play with 10 men for more than an hour in Lisbon on Wednesday night. Pau Cubarsí was sent off early in that game, and Benfica had numerous chances to punish their opponents, but a combination of some brilliant goalkeeping from Wojciech Szczęsny, and a fine strike from Raphinha, sealed a 1-0 win for the visitors.  

Barcelona are firmly in the box-seat of that tie and they have an opportunity to take real control of the title race in La Liga over the next week. Only three points separate the top three as it stands, but Barça are very much the form team, with six straight league victories since they last dropped points at Getafe in January.  

They've only conceded one goal in La Liga since the beginning of February, although they have still at times found it tough going against well-organised, defensively-minded sides. They could only manage 1-0 home victories against Rayo Vallecano and Alavés last month, and those games will offer some hope to the visitors here.  

Osasuna are unlikely to be anywhere near as bold as they were in the reverse fixture when they sensed weakness in a rotated Barça side and really went for them. Flick has better options available to him in reserve now, should he choose to mix things up here, while the visitors have experienced a major dip in form over the past few months.  

It's just one win in 14 league outings for Vicente Moreno's side. Nine of those games did end level, so it's not as though the wheels have completely fallen off, but Osasuna have slipped just into the bottom half and they are now only on the fringes of the European battle.  

They head into this game after a six-goal thriller against Valencia which ended level. Promising midfielder Aimar Oroz bagged a brace in that game, but their primary goal threat continues to come from Ante Budimir who notched his 14th of the season from the penalty spot.  

The Croatian trails only Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappé in the Pichichi race. Four of his 14 goals have been headers and only two players can better his average of 4.1 aerial challenges won per game in La Liga 2024/25, one of whom is teammate Lucas Torró.  

That offers some clues as to how Osasuna may be able to cause problems for Barça on Saturday night. Moreno may even opt to play an extra centre-back which would give them another physical presence at set-piece situations, but they have struggled to create much from open play on their travels, and they average just 0.58 goals per away game.  

Team News:  

All eyes will be on Flick's teamsheet here, and it's going to be very interesting to see just how many risks he is willing to take, not least given his rotation spectacularly backfired at El Sadar in the reverse fixture.  

With two huge games to come before the international break, some rotation is surely inevitable though. Ferran Torres is likely to start up front in place of Lewandowski, while the likes of Pedri, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are also due a rest.  

Flick may look to manage the workload of those players here, while he's still missing  

Marc-André ter Stegen, Marc Bernal and Andreas Christensen to injuries.  

As for Osasuna, they've lost their star performer from last weekend to injury, with Aimar Oroz unavailable for the trip to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. Moreno may respond by switching to a back five for this game, or he could alternatively stick with his usual 4-2-3-1 shape and bring Moi Gómez into the midfield. 

Otherwise, Osasuna have no selection issues, with the exception of back-up keeper Aitor Fernández who is rated doubtful. 

Barcelona vs Osasuna Odds

Barcelona are the clear favourites at 1/5 to make it seven wins on the spin in La Liga. You can back the Draw at 5/1, while Osasuna are priced at 10/1 to complete a famous double over the Catalan giants. 

You can get odds of 120/1 for a repeat of the 4-2 scoreline in Osasuna's favour from earlier in the campaign. Draw or Osasuna is on offer at 16/5 in the Double Chance market, while you back the visitors to win either half at 16/5. 

Alternatively, the home team are priced at 13/10 to win this game to nil. You can Barça to win and Over 3.5 goals at 1/1, while Flick's side are priced at 11/8 with a -2.00 Handicap. 

With rotation expected from the hosts, Ferran Torres may be as good a bet as anyone at 4/1 to score first and 19/20 to score anytime. Young midfielder Fermín López is also in strong contention for a starting role and he's on offer at 6/4 to score anytime. 

There is little doubt about Budimir's participation in this game and you can back Osasuna's main goal threat to score first at 7/1, and to score anytime at 13/8. 

Bet 1 - Osasuna +2.00 Handicap @ 13/10 

Given what happened in the reverse fixture, Flick won't be taking Osasuna lightly, but the timing of this game, just three days after the first leg against Benfica, and only three days before the second leg, suggests he will make changes. 

While Barcelona aren't missing as many players to injury as was the case when the sides met in Pamplona, it's still hard to see any way that the German could leave out Pedri or Raphinha without weakening the team. 

While Osasuna are not in great form, they have continued to be competitive and they look capable of coming here and putting men behind the ball and at least making life difficult for the league leaders. Given that, I'm backing Osasuna +2.00 Handicap at 13/10. 

Bet 2 - Bryan Zaragoza 2+ shots @ 2/1 

While Budimir's goal return is impressive, the player that Barça fans will be most concerned about here is Bryan Zaragoza. The young winger is blessed with electric pace, and he has relished his two games against this opposition so far. 

He scored twice for Granada in a 2-2 draw against the Catalans last season, while he scored and assisted for Osasuna in the reverse earlier this term. 

Zaragoza has only recently returned from injury, but he has looked sharper in his last two matches, having five attempts against Celta Vigo and three against Valencia. 

He's likely to be the away team's main outlet on the break here, and I'm backing Bryan Zaragoza to have 2+ shots at 2/1.