Real Sociedad vs Osasuna predictions and match preview for Saturday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as Osasuna travel to Donostia.
| Date | Saturday 31st December 2022 |
| Kick-Off | 16:15 (local time) |
| Stadium | Reale Arena |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Real Sociedad vs Osasuna Preview
Osasuna make the relatively short trip to Donostia on New Year’s Eve for a showdown with Real Sociedad. Victory will see La Real move to 3rd, however an Osasuna win would see them leapfrog their opponents and move into a Champions League place.
It’s certainly shaping up to be a really tight and competitive battle for the European positions this season, with one UCL slot seemingly up for grabs given Sevilla’s struggles. Real Sociedad will certainly have their eyes on it and they’ll be hopeful that they will go even better in the second half of the season as their injury problems hopefully start to ease.
They are still missing some big players though with Mikel Oyarzabal not yet fit to participate and their attacking options are further limited by the absences of Carlos Fernandez and Umar Sadiq. La Real have coped well despite those attacking selection issues though with Brais Mendez chipping in with 6 league goals from midfield since his summer move from Vigo.
As for Osasuna, their main goal threat has come from Chimy Avila who has also netted 6 times and is enjoying his best spell since serious injury problems started midway through the 2019/20 season. Jagoba Arrasate will have to decide how best to employ him here though with either Ante Budimir or Kike Garcia likely to lead the line in what could be a relatively cautious system.
Osasuna would certainly be happy to take a point from this game and they’ll know that Real Sociedad are not the most clinical team in the league. That has been particularly true at the Reale Arena where La Real average just one goal per game this term so Osasuna have reason to believe here and they were in pretty good form prior to the break. They’d taken 10 points from 4 games before losing 2-1 at home to leaders Barcelona in their last league outing.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Real Sociedad
| INJURED | Oyarzabal, Merquelanz, Fernandez, Sadiq |
| DOUBTFUL | Sola, Barrenetxea, Turrientes |
| BANNED | Merino |
Possible XI: Remiro – Rico, Le Normand, Zubeldia, Gorosabel – Zubimendi, Silva, Mendez – Cho, Sorloth, Kubo (4-3-3)
Coach: Imanol Alguacil
Osasuna
| INJURED | |
| DOUBTFUL | Vidal |
| BANNED |
Possible XI: Herrera – Sanchez, David Garcia, Unai Garcia, Pena – Torro, Moncayola, Moi Gomez – Ruben Garcia, Kike, Chimy (4-3-3)
Coach: Jagoba Arrasate
Score Prediction: Real Sociedad 1-0 Osasuna
With Real Sociedad struggling for home goals and Osasuna unlikely to throw too much caution to the wind, it’s hard to see many goals in this game. Of the two, it’s still La Real who have that bit of extra quality in midfield though and it may only take one moment of quality from Brais Mendez or David Silva to decide this one.
PLEASE NOTE – Our LaLiga predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.
