League leaders Real Madrid will look to strengthen their position at the top of the table with another win when they host Osasuna.
Real Madrid are all set to host 10th-placed Osasuna in search of their eighth win in the league. The visitors are heading into this encounter on the back of a win and they will look to continue the momentum by pulling off an upset against Los Blancos.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men have won nine out of their ten matches in the 2023/24 season. While they might not be playing the best football, they do know how to get the right result. And, with the return of Vinicius Junior, they are a much more threatening team.
Real Madrid are heading into this encounter on the back of a sensational 3-2 win over Napoli away from home in the Champions League. They are in red-hot form and will look to continue the momentum with another win.
Osasuna have not been in the best of forms of late. They have only won one out of their last five games. They have lost three of those fixtures. Despite their poor form, they are currently 10th in the league with ten points to their name.
While their overall form is not good enough, they are heading into this fixture on the back of a rare 2-0 win. It was an evenly contested fixture but the visitors were much better than Alaves in the final third.
That win will be a major boost for Osasuna heading into this fixture against Real Madrid. They will be hoping to put up a good fight against the league leaders. Meanwhile, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at this fixture and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti has a bit to worry about before heading into this fixture. He has quite a few absentees in the heart of the defence to deal with. Eder Militao is out injured, Nacho will be serving a ban and David Alaba’s availability is still in doubt.
🔥 He's back!
📐 @ViniJr#UCL pic.twitter.com/h8DuETijD7— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) October 6, 2023
Alaba is expected to be back fit in time but if he fails to prove his fitness, Antonio Rudiger will be his only first-team centre-back available. Meanwhile, Arda Guler and Thibaut Courtois are still unavailable.
Los Blancos are expected to stick with the 4-4-2 formation with an attacking midfielder behind the front two. Kepa Arrizabalaga will continue in goal. Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy will be the full-backs. If Alaba is back in time, he will pair up with Rudiger in the heart of the defence.
Eduardo Camavinga will return to the centre of the park after playing as a full-back in the last few fixtures. Aurelien Tchouameni will be the defensive midfielder, and Federico Valverde will start on the right side of the midfield. Jude Bellingham will be the attacking midfielder behind the Brazilian duo of Vinicius and Rodrygo.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Kepa; Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Bellingham; Vinicius, Rodrygo
Osasuna
The visitors will be without the services of Moi Gomez and Unai Garcia. Meanwhile, Johan Mojica’s availability is still in doubt after he was forced off after coming on from the bench against Alaves. Meanwhile, they do have a boost as Ezequiel Avila is back after serving a suspension.
📝 CONVOCATORIA | #Osasuna cita a veintidós jugadores para enfrentarse al @realmadrid.
▶️ https://t.co/NKUcG4hjEz#RealMadridOsasuna pic.twitter.com/STs4TNrQ6E
— C. A. OSASUNA (@Osasuna) October 6, 2023
Jagoba Arrasate will go ahead with the 4-3-3 formation, where Sergio Herrera will be in goal. Ruben Pena and Juan Cruz will start out wide as the full-backs. Alejandro Catena and David García will feature in the heart of their defence.
21-year-old Iker Munoz will feature in the centre of the park alongside Jon Moncayola and Aimar Oroz. The trio will look to control the possession of the ball and not allow Real Madrid midfielders to control the tempo of the game. Jose Arnaiz and Ruben Garcia will start out wide as the wingers. Meanwhile, Ante Budimir will be leading the line.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Herrera; Pena, Catena, D Garcia, Cruz; Moncayola, Munoz, Oroz; Ruben Garcia, Budimir, Arnaiz
Key Stats
- Real Madrid have scored 16 goals in their eight matches in La Liga. They are fourth in the league in terms of goals scored.
- Osasuna have conceded 10 goals in their eight outings.
- The home team have the best defence in the league with just six goals conceded in eight matches.
- Jude Bellingham has scored six goals and has two assists in the league so far.
- Real Madrid have taken the most shots (133) in the league so far.
Player to Watch
Vinicius Junior
Vinicius Junior has not had the kind of start to the 2023/24 season that he would have hoped for. The Brazilian winger did not get going initially and then suffered an injury that kept him out for a while.
But, he is back now and has featured in their last two matches. The 23-year-old is expected to start in this home game and given the kind of performance he gave against Napoli, Vinicius could very well decide the outcome of this fixture.
Prediction
Real Madrid 3-1 Osasuna
Osasuna are heading into this away fixture against the league leaders on the back of a win, and they will be confident of putting up a great fight against Los Blancos. Meanwhile, the home team are one of the most dominant teams in Europe at this point in time with nine wins in their ten matches.
Given the amount of quality they have in their ranks Carlo Ancelotti’s men might end up winning this game quite comfortably. The Hard Tackle predicts an easy 3-1 win for the home team to consolidate their place atop La Liga.
