Osasuna will be bidding to bounce back from their heavy defeat against Real Madrid before the international break when they welcome Granada to Pamplona on Friday night.

The home side have struggled for consistency in La Liga this season, sitting down in 12th position in the table on 10 points, while Granada are 19th, boasting six points from their opening nine matches.

Match preview

Osasuna were excellent during the 2022-23 campaign, finishing seventh in the La Liga table, in addition to reaching the final of the Copa del Rey for just the second time in their history.

Los Rojillos failed to qualify for the group stage of the Europa Conference League, though, losing in the playoffs to Club Brugge, and they have struggled to get going in Spain's top flight this term.

Indeed, a record of three wins, one draw and five defeats from nine matches has seen them collect 10 points, which is only enough for 12th position in the table ahead of the next set of fixtures.

Jagoba Arrasate's side recorded a 2-0 win over Alaves in their first game of October but were beaten 4-0 by Real Madrid before the international break, which proved to be their fifth loss of the campaign.

Osasuna are unbeaten in their last three matches against Granada, recording two wins in the process, but the points were shared in a 1-1 draw in the corresponding fixture in 2021-22.

Granada, meanwhile, have a record of one win, three draws and five losses from nine league matches this season, with a total of six points leaving them in 19th position in the table.

The Andalusian outfit secured a return to Spain's top flight courtesy of their Segunda Division success last term, and they will now be bidding to consolidate back in La Liga after a season away.

Paco Lopez's side have found it difficult to make their mark thus far this term, but they are unbeaten in their last three matches, drawing with Real Betis and Almeria before playing out a 2-2 with Barcelona before the international break, which would have undoubtedly boosted confidence.

Granada's only win of the campaign was a 3-2 at home to Mallorca at the end of August, and they have been conceding goals at an alarming rate this term, shipping 23 in their nine matches, which is the second-worst defensive record in the division behind Almeria (24).

Lopez's team have goals in them, though, scoring 15 times, with Bryan Zaragoza netting five of those, and the 22-year-old made his Spain debut during the international break.

Team News

Osasuna will be without the services of three first-team players through injury, with Johan Mojica, Moi Gomez and Unai Garcia on the sidelines.

Arrasate will make changes to the side that started the four-goal loss to Real Madrid, with Jose Arnaiz, Ezequiel Avila and Pablo Ibanez in line for spots in the XI.

The head coach is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his backline, though, so it should again be a back four for Osasuna, with David Garcia being joined by Alejandro Catena in the middle.

As for Granada, Victor Diaz and Raul Fernandez remain unavailable for selection due to knee and finger injuries respectively.

Lopez's side did not pick up any fresh issues against Barcelona, though, so it would not be a surprise to see the same starting XI for the contest with the champions.

Zaragoza has been the team's standout player so far this season, but Lucas Boye and Myrto Uzuni have scored three times each in the league in 2023-24, and the pair will also feature in the first XI.

Osasuna possible starting lineup:
Herrera; Areso, D Garcia, Catena, Cruz; Ibanez, Torro, Oroz; Arnaiz, Budimir, Avila

Granada possible starting lineup:
Ferreria; Sanchez, Rubio, Miquel, Neva, Fernandez; Uzuni, Gumbau, Villar, Zaragoza; Boye

We say: Osasuna 1-1 Granada

Granada are the draw specialists at the moment, sharing the points in their last three league matches, and we can see another stalemate here. Osasuna have actually only drawn once in their nine league games this term, but we are finding it difficult to separate the two teams on Friday night.

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