Who: Osasuna vs Actual Madrid
What: Spanish LaLiga
The place: El Sadar Stadium, Pamplona, Spain
When: Saturday at 9pm (20:00 GMT)
Comply with Al Jazeera sport’s reside textual content and photograph commentary stream of the match.
Defending champions Actual Madrid have the prospect to increase their lead on the prime of LaLiga to 4 factors, even when just for a few hours, once they journey to Osasuna.
Second-placed Atletico Madrid, who drew 1-1 at Actual within the sides’ final outing, are in motion in a while Saturday once they entertain Celta Vigo.
Barcelona, who completed second within the league part of the Champions League, are third within the Spanish prime flight – two factors behind the leaders. The Catalan membership journey to high-flying Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
Together with the house draw with Atletico, Actual misplaced their earlier league match in a shock defeat at Espanyol, including to the strain heading into the following fixture as LaLiga tightens on the prime.
The shape e book isn’t fully in opposition to Carlo Ancelotti’s Actual, nonetheless, as his group have received their final two cup matches, together with their 3-2 win at Manchester Metropolis of their Champions League playoff first-leg tie.
What did Ancelotti say about two winless LaLiga matches?
“We’re effectively motivated, and it’s a possibility to maintain the lead, which is our objective,” the Madrid supervisor advised reporters on Friday.
“It’s going to be a troublesome sport, clearly, however we did effectively within the final sport, and I feel we have now to substantiate it.
“It’s a sport the place we have now to repeat all the great issues we have now executed within the sport in opposition to Metropolis.
“The standard of this group is rarely unsure – that is the way in which ahead.
“That is the place the season actually begins.”
📊 DRAMA on the prime and backside of the #LALIGAEASPORTS standings! pic.twitter.com/42bDakX6Il
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) February 13, 2025
Did Ancelotti supply any information on Vinicius Junior’s future at Actual Madrid?
Ancelotti mentioned he’s uninterested in answering questions on hypothesis linking ahead Vinicius Jr with a transfer to Saudi Arabia and as a substitute he needed to concentrate on how effectively the participant was performing.
Vinicius is believed to be near signing a brand new contract with Actual, however a rumoured transfer to Saudi Arabia was as soon as once more the principle focus on the information convention earlier than Saturday’s LaLiga sport away to Osasuna.
“So many questions. Am I uninterested in this subject? Sure. Am I nervous? No. Do I see him blissful? Sure,” Ancelotti mentioned.
“We’re pleased with him. There’s nothing extra so as to add than what I’ve added every week or two weeks in the past. We don’t speak about this subject right here. He doesn’t speak about it both.
“I see him as the identical previous Vinicius with plenty of want to do issues proper. He has executed it very effectively within the final sport.”
Did the Rodri banner at Man Metropolis upset Vinicius?
That final sport for Actual was a 3-2 away win over Metropolis on Tuesday when Vinicius was named participant of the match.
The Brazilian had been the goal of a banner displaying Metropolis midfielder Rodri with the Ballon d’Or trophy with the caption “Cease crying your coronary heart out” in reference to the Actual ahead saying he believed he ought to have received the award.
“I see him very motivated, particularly due to what he has executed within the sport in opposition to Metropolis, the place he had plenty of strain, and he has endured this strain very effectively, making a distinction within the sport,” Ancelotti mentioned.
“Whether or not he has acquired a suggestion or not, I can let you know what I see right here, a cheerful participant who needs to do issues effectively and make historical past with this membership.”
What are Osasuna’s possibilities in opposition to Actual?
With Actual embroiled in a battle for European survival, Osasuna are hoping to capitalise when the LaLiga leaders arrive at El Sadar.
Los Blancos host Premier League champions Man Metropolis within the second leg of their Champions League playoff on Wednesday.
Osasuna, 2023 Copa del Rey runners-up, are ninth within the league however usually rise to the event when Spain’s largest sides arrive in Pamplona.
In September, they romped to a 4-2 victory over Barcelona, inflicting what was the Catalans’ first league defeat of the season.
Croatian striker Ante Budimir netted twice and with 12 targets trails solely Barcelona duo Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha and Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe within the standings.
In January, Budimir turned Osasuna’s report abroad objective scorer and has netted 62 for the membership since first arriving on mortgage within the 2020-2021 season from Mallorca earlier than signing completely.
Budimir, 33, netted a brace in opposition to Actual Sociedad at first of this month to earn his group a formidable victory at El Sadar that ended a nine-game winless run in LaLiga.
“[Budimir] is making historical past. He’s doing his factor, and he retains doing it. He’s not going to cease,” Osasuna coach Vicente Moreno mentioned.
“He works arduous day by day and might go in [good or bad] runs of kind, however he’s a participant who has earned his place, and for us, it’s nice he’s placing them away.”
The previous destructive streak was began by a 4-0 defeat by Actual Madrid on the Santiago Bernabeu, which Osasuna will attempt to avenge on Saturday.
10 – Solely Ousmane Dembélé (15) has scored extra targets in all competitions than Kylian Mbappé (10) in 2025 amongst gamers in Europe’s prime 5 leagues.
On.#MCIRMA #UCL pic.twitter.com/bw2SF50Sy6
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 11, 2025
Osasuna group information
Osasuna will likely be lacking suspended key centre again Flavien Boyomo, who scored their late equaliser on Monday at Mallorca.
Actual Madrid group information
Madrid have a raft of defenders unavailable via damage. Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao will each miss the rest of the season with knee accidents whereas Actual’s issues on the again worsened earlier than the Metropolis match with Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba each absent from the squad that travelled to Manchester.
Lucas Vazquez was additionally absent for the primary leg with a knock and is unlikely to be risked at Osasuna.
Head-to-head
The groups have confronted one another 46 instances with Actual successful on 31 events.
Osasuna have walked away with a win in solely 5 of these video games.
Actual are on a five-game successful streak in opposition to their opponents with Osasuna’s final win coming courtesy of a 1-0 victory in January 2011.
Madrid received the next season’s league fixtures between the golf equipment 7-1 and 5-1. There have been 22 matches since Osasuna’s final win, of which Madrid have received 18.