Osasuna vs Real Sociedad prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-12-01 20:00.
Head coach Jagoba Arrasate admits Osasuna are hurting after their recent run of form. The manager described last weekend’s “very tough” 3-1 defeat to Villarreal as “painful”, as his side continued to plummet down the La Liga (LL) table thanks to a fourth game without a victory (D1), putting their previously decent start to the campaign behind them.
Defensive issues are a particular concern for Osasuna, who have conceded at least two goals in each of those losses. Equally as worrying is how they have performed on home soil, as they have won just one of their seven league outings at Estadio El Sadar (D2, L4), failing to pick up a single point in their four fixtures against teams currently in the top half of the table.
Turning that around won’t be easy against a Real Sociedad side who are unbeaten in a staggering 15 straight H2Hs (W10, D5), including winning the last five without conceding! As if that’s not enough, the visitors have been victorious in six of their nine LL fixtures since mid-September (D1, L2), with the two defeats coming at the hands of top-four clubs Barcelona and Atlético Madrid.
Imanol Alguacil’s side are having to balance domestic achievements with playing in the UEFA Champions League this season and could only manage a 0-0 draw against RB Salzburg on Wednesday night, albeit they are already qualified for the next stage. The manager, recently named La Liga’s Coach of the Year for 2022/23, admitted his team “could have done better” in that fixture as they failed to score for only the second time in their last 17 outings across all competitions.
Players to watch: Osasuna striker Ante Budimir will be desperate to break his duck against Real Sociedad, having faced them seven times without scoring or winning (D1, L6). He may be attempting to out-gun visiting forward Mikel Oyarzabal, who has netted six of his seven league goals this season after half-time.
Hot stat: Osasuna have won each of the four games in which they have scored first in LL this season, but also picked up just one point after going 1-0 down (D1, L8).