Osasuna vs Sevilla prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-09-22 14:15.
A heated 3-2 loss away to Getafe last round saw Osasuna slip to a second consecutive La Liga (LL) defeat, prolonging their poor start to the season that’s seen them collect only half of the points they managed in their first five rounds of the previous term. And with meetings with Atlético and Real Madrid just around the corner, it’s imperative they take advantage of an out-of-sorts Sevilla to prevent slipping further down the table.
It was the second consecutive game that a second-half Osasuna equaliser was cancelled out by a strike in the final ten minutes, which also cruelly stripped them of a hard-fought draw with Barcelona (L 2-1) in their prior outing. There’s no questioning that manager Jagoba Arrasate’s issues are in defence, particularly as their seven goals this league season have been sourced from seven different players.
Sevilla lost both of their LL matchups with six different top-half clubs last season, including Osasuna (L 3-2 home, L 2-1 away), and have shown little so far this time around to assure their fans things are going to change. José Luis Mendilibar’s honeymoon period in Seville expired long ago and they’re back to their wicked ways of conceding goals with regularity, as they did before his mid-season appointment in 2022/23.
Their only points have come at home against newly-promoted Las Palmas (W 1-0), which was even a game that Mendilibar described as “difficult”. That was before a disappointing UEFA Champions League draw (D 1-1) with French club Lens during the week, where in his opinion the club “got a point without playing well”. With this the first of three league matches in seven days for Sevilla, a particularly damaging period could be coming if they cannot immediately improve their defending.
Players to watch: One of two Osasuna players to score in multiple competitive games this season, Chimy Ávila is reportedly attracting interest from other LL clubs for the winter transfer window – eight of his last 13 league goals were scored at home. Rafa Mir was Sevilla’s final scorer in their only away game of 2023/24 and was on the scoresheet in his previous H2H appearance.
Hot stat: Ten of the last 13 LL games involving either club produced more than 2.5 total goals.