Spain - Primera Division
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Played
February 11, 2012 7:00 PM GMT
Estadio El Sadar — Pamplona (Iruñea)
Referee:‬ José Luis Paradas Romero‎
Attendance:‬ 18000‎
 
4′ Dejan Lekic
Alexis Sánchez 51′
22′ Dejan Lekic
Tello 73′
56′ Raúl García
 

La Liga Preview: Osasuna - Barcelona

Pep Guardiola's side are back on La Liga duty after successfully progressing to the Copa del Rey final as they travel to face Jose Luis Mendilibar's men in Pamplona

By Martin Macdonald

More On :  FC Barcelona, Osasuna, Osasuna vs FC Barcelona

PROBABLE LINEUPS

OSASUNA


Fernandez
Bertran, Flano, Segio, Satrustegui
Punal
Damia, Nekounam, Garcia
Nino, Balde
BARCELONA


Valdes
Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal
Xavi, Mascherano, Thiago
Messi, Cesc, Sanchez

Sergio Busquets is doubtful for Barcelona after he suffered a nasty gash to the knee in last weekend's win over Real Sociedad and missed the Copa del Rey semi-final victory against Valencia on Wednesday. The Spain international did train on Thursday but may not be fully fit.

Pedro is also lacking match fitness after only recently returning to training after a knee injury and Barca are still without long-term absentees Andreu Fontas, Ibrahim Afellay, and David Villa.

On a positive note, Andres Iniesta made a cameo appearance in midweek and could be in contention to feature against Osasuna. Victor Valdes will be restored to the starting XI in replace of Jose Pinto.

Jose Luis Mendilibar has a few first team players who are absent for the match at Reyno de Navarra. Masoud Shojaei and Kike Sola continue to exercise apart from their team-mates and are still to resume full training with the squad.

Javier Calleja and Alvara Cejudo did, however, train with the rest of the squad this week as they continue their rehabilitation.


 DID YOU KNOW?
  • The last match between Barcelona and Osasuna ended in a 2-1 victory for the Catalan side in the Copa del Rey in January. Alexis Sanchez and Sergi Roberto both scored to seal the win.
  • After the victory over Valencia on Wednesday that saw progression in the Copa del Rey, Pep Guardiola has led his side to 12 finals in three and a half years in charge.
  • In the last three meetings against Osasuna, Barcelona have scored 14 times.
  • Osasuna have not collected a victory in nine games. Their last win came against Villarreal on December 18th.
  • Jose Luis Mendilibar's men are currently 9th in La Liga after notching up 28 points from 21 games played.
  • Osasuna have the third worst goal difference in La Liga. They have scored 23 goals but conceded 33 so far.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Osasuna 0-3 FC Barcelona
    19.75 %
  • Osasuna 0-4 FC Barcelona
    13.58 %
  • Osasuna 1-3 FC Barcelona
    7.54 %
Head to Head
Spain - Primera Division ‎(LIGA)‎ Feb 11, 2012 Osasuna 3 - FC Barcelona 2
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Spain - Copa del Rey ‎(ESPC)‎ Jan 12, 2012 Osasuna 1 - FC Barcelona 2
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Spain - Copa del Rey ‎(ESPC)‎ Jan 4, 2012 FC Barcelona 4 - Osasuna 0
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Spain - Primera Division ‎(LIGA)‎ Sep 17, 2011 FC Barcelona 8 - Osasuna 0
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Spain - Primera Division ‎(LIGA)‎ Apr 23, 2011 FC Barcelona 2 - Osasuna 0
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Last Five Matches
Osasuna
May 13, 2012Racing 2 - Osasuna 4LIGA
May 5, 2012Osasuna 1 - Real Sociedad 0LIGA
May 2, 2012Valencia CF 4 - Osasuna 0LIGA
Apr 28, 2012Villarreal 1 - Osasuna 1LIGA
Apr 23, 2012Osasuna 1 - Malaga 1LIGA
FC Barcelona
May 12, 2012Betis 2 - FC Barcelona 2LIGA
May 5, 2012FC Barcelona 4 - Espanyol 0LIGA
May 2, 2012FC Barcelona 4 - Malaga 1LIGA
Apr 29, 2012Rayo Vallecano 0 - FC Barcelona 7LIGA
Apr 24, 2012FC Barcelona 2 - Chelsea FC 2UCL
Odds
Returns: Osasuna £130.00 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Returns: Draw £61.00 188bet Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game
Returns: Barcelona £290.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Team News
Available Squads
25Andrés FernándezGoalkeeper
2Marc BertránDefender
4Miguel FlañoDefender
20Jukka RaitalaDefender
23SergioDefender
6Javad NekounamMidfielder
10Patxi PuñalMidfielder
14Raúl GarcíaMidfielder
16Álvaro CejudoMidfielder
9Dejan LekicStriker
17NinoStriker
13Asier RiesgoGoalkeeper
5Manuel Ortiz ToribioMidfielder
24DamiàDefender
11Javier CallejaMidfielder
22TimorMidfielder
19IbrahimaStriker
21Roland LamahMidfielder
1Víctor ValdésGoalkeeper
2Daniel AlvesDefender
3Gerard PiquéDefender
5Carles PuyolDefender
22Éric AbidalDefender
11Thiago AlcántaraMidfielder
14Javier MascheranoMidfielder
30Sergi RobertoMidfielder
9Alexis SánchezStriker
10Lionel MessiStriker
17PedroStriker
13José Pinto ColoradoGoalkeeper
21AdrianoMidfielder
4Cesc FàbregasMidfielder
6XaviMidfielder
8Andrés Iniesta LujánMidfielder
28Dos SantosMidfielder
-Joan Isaac Cuenca LopezStriker
37TelloStriker
Players to Watch
Patxi Puñal
Patxi Puñal
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 10
Games Goals YC RC
35 0 12 1
The Osasuna captain will likely be employed just in front of his defence against Barca so he must be on top of his game if he is to squeeze the space and act as an effective shield for the back line.
Xavi
Xavi
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 6
Games Goals YC RC
31 9 2 0
Came back into the first XI for the victory over Valencia in the cup and instantly added his class to the proceedings and grabbed an excellent goal. Expect him to be the orchestrator of the match and pick out passes at will.
Prediction
Barca have scored 14 goals in their last three games against Osasuna so the Catalans will probably have little problem in breaking down the defence of the home side. The hosts obviously need to keep things tight at the back but their recent form suggests this will be a comfortable victory for Pep Guardiola's side.
Editor's Prediction
Osasuna 0
Barcelona 3
Results
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi
Striker
Barcelona 		50 10
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker
Real Madrid 		46 12
Radamel Falcao Radamel Falcao
Striker
Atl. Madrid 		24 5
Gonzalo Higuaín Gonzalo Higuaín
Striker
Real Madrid 		22 0
Karim Benzema Karim Benzema
Striker
Real Madrid 		21 0