This midweek brings up the final round of LaLiga before the World Cup break, with Osasuna vs Barcelona the standout game on Tuesday night. With Barcelona battling for the title and with Osasuna up to fifth, it should be a competitive contest and it’ll be broadcast live in the UK on ITV4, with a kick-off time of 8:30pm GMT.
Barcelona are heavily favoured by the bookies, and rightly so given their red hot domestic form, but here comes a look at a few of the other nuances to keep in mind when betting on this Matchday 14 duel.
Osasuna v Barcelona Bet Builder Tips
Barcelona to Win
Barcelona may have had their struggles in the Champions League this season, but they have been excellent in LaLiga and have dropped just five points across the first 13 matchdays. Even if Osasuna have done well so far this campaign and sit in fifth, this is a game Barça should win. Both sides should set up in a 4-3-3, but Barcelona simply boast so much more quality.
With this being the Catalan side’s final fixture before the World Cup break, Xavi doesn’t need to worry about rotations and can name a very strong line-up. Eric García and Andreas Christensen are even both back from injury and should start together in central defence, with Xavi not expected to give Gerard Piqué any minutes in what will be the final match of his career. The ceremonies and celebrations of Piqué’s career all took place at home against Almería on Saturday night, so this game won’t be about sentimentality. It’ll just be about taking the three points, something Barcelona have done in 11 out of 13 league games this term.
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Prediction: Barcelona to Win
Barcelona to have 5 or more Shots on Target
Robert Lewandowski and Ousmane Dembélé should both start up front for Barcelona and be joined by one of Raphinha or Ansu Fati. The competition between those two wingers is great news for Xavi, as they’re both trying extra hard to make every minute count whenever they’re on the pitch.
No matter who plays, we should see a lot of shots from this Barcelona side. They’re averaging 6.3 shots on target per game this campaign and had a season-high 12 shots on target in their most recent game, the 2-0 win over Almería in which the opposition goalkeeper Fernando Martínez made save after save.
Given that Osasuna’s starting goalkeeper Sergio Herrera may miss a second game in a row due to injury, it’s likely that Barcelona will keep up that shoot-on-sight policy to try to test backup Aitor Fernández if he does indeed get the start again.
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Prediction: Barcelona to have 5 or more Shots on Target
Under 3.5 Goals
Even though Barcelona are expected to shoot and shoot and shoot, we should keep in mind that only two of their 12 shots on target from the Almería game went in. Barça score a lot of goals because they create a lot of chances, but they are actually underperforming their xG this season, having scored 31 goals off an xG of 35.93. In all of LaLiga, only Real Sociedad are underperforming their xG by more than the Catalan club. So, this probably won’t be a huge margin of victory for Barcelona, even if they’re likely to shoot at volume and even if they’re likely to get the win.
At the other end, Osasuna will surely have limited possession and just a few chances, and it’ll be difficult for them to contribute to the total goals tally since Marc-André ter Stegen is in superb form. The German has conceded just four times this entire LaLiga season and, ahead of this midweek round, he has kept clean sheets in four games in a row.
Thanks to these clean sheets, seven of the 13 matchdays so far have produced a Barcelona victory with under 3.5 total goals.
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Prediction: Under 3.5 Goals
Osasuna to Receive the Most Cards
For the final part of this Bet Builder, we should expect Osasuna to receive the most cards in this duel. They have the third-worst disciplinary record in LaLiga so far this season, having accumulated 42 yellow cards and four red cards so far. Barça, on the other hand, are only 13th in this ranking, with 29 yellows and one red.
With Barcelona dominating possession in almost every game they play, it’s natural for the other side to collect more cards. It’s even more likely when playing a physical side such as Osasuna.
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Prediction: Osasuna to Receive the Most Cards
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How to watch Osasuna v Barcelona in La Liga?
📅 When is Osasuna v Barcelona? / Tuesday, 8th November, 20:30
🏟 Where is Osasuna v Barcelona? / El Sadar Stadium (Osasuna)
📺 What TV channel is Osasuna v Barcelona on? / ITV4 🟨 …And who is the referee for Osasuna v Barcelona? / J. Manzano 🇪🇸
