Barcelona vs Osasuna

A sombre Barcelona welcome Osasuna to the Olympic Stadium in La Liga on Wednesday night.

Xavi’s tenure in Catalonia is officially drawing to a close after he revealed in the wake of Barca’s frenetic 5-3 defeat to Villarreal at the weekend he will step down at the end of the season. However, it certainly won’t be a surprise if Xavi is out of the door before the season’s conclusion.

The La Liga champions are all but out of the title race and recently squandered their best chance of securing silverware this term as they lost to Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.

A 2-0 victory over Wednesday’s opponents at the start of 2024 handed Barca the chance to win the Supercopa de Espana, but they were beaten emphatically by Real Madrid in the final.

A curious atmosphere is in the offing on Wednesday as a middling Osasuna come to town. They have, however, enjoyed a bright run at the start of the year and are doubtlessly capable of toppling a vulnerable Barca side.

Here’s 90min’s preview of Barcelona’s upcoming La Liga fixture.

Barcelona vs Osasuna H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current Form (all competitions)

Xavi will not be able to call upon any returning stars in midweek, with Barcelona’s injury list unlikely to change from Saturday’s 5-3 defeat.

The departing Barca boss recently lost Alejandro Balde for the season, while Marcos Alonso is out for the long haul after undergoing back surgery. Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s back issues will keep him out of action for at least another month.

Gavi and Sergi Roberto are other long-term absentees. Raphinha and Inigo Martinez should return in February.

Barca predicted lineup vs Osasuna (4-3-3): Pena; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Cancelo; De Jong, Pedri, Gundogan; Yamal, Roque, Ferran.

The visitors have no injury concerns heading into Wednesday’s game, although there should be some rotation from the team that started Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Sevilla.

Drastic changes shouldn’t be expected, but there could be starts for Jon Moncayola and Jesus Areso.

Osasuna predicted lineup vs Barca (3-5-2): Herrera; D. Garcia, Catena, Cruz; Areso, Ibanez, Munoz, Gomez, Mojica; R. Garcia, Budimir.

Barca didn’t exactly have to purr to down Osasuna in the Supercopa a few weeks ago, but the mood surrounding the club will be slightly different on Wednesday night.

The visitors’ impressive run of form stands them in good stead heading into the midweek fixture, even if they are an uninspiring outfit in almost every regard.

This is a tricky one to call given we don’t know how Barca will respond to their manager’s decision. Xavi’s impending exit could liberate them, who knows? Either way, they should be able to squeak by on Wednesday evening.

Prediction: Barcelona 2-1 Osasuna

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