Preview: Athletic Bilbao vs Osasuna - prediction, team news, lineups

Just a point separates Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna ahead of Tuesday's La Liga encounter at San Mames.

Los Leones head into matchday 32 in 11th position in the league table, two places behind their midweek opponents.

Match preview

Athletic have enjoyed signicant success in Ernesto Valverde's third spell in charge, ending their 40-year wait for Copa del Rey glory in 2024 and securing a top-four finish in the 2024-25 campaign.

However, they have fallen short of those standards in the current campaign, ultimately contributing to Valverde's decision to leave his beloved club at the end of the season.

Valverde's side may still have hopes of closing the six-point deficit to the top six, but they will also be wary of the same gap separating them from the bottom three, especially as they are out of form with four defeats in their five matches.

Athletic suffered their seventh home league defeat in their most recent outing against Villarreal, which saw Gorka Guruzeta net a late consolation in a narrow 2-1 loss.

Los Leones will now look to avoid suffering consecutive home La Liga defeats for the first time since April/May 2023.

They can at least take confidence from the fact they have avoided defeat in nine of their previous 10 La Liga meetings with Osasuna (W4, D5).

Osasuna, meanwhile, are sitting seven points clear from the drop zone and five points adrift of sixth-placed Celta Vigo ahead of the trip to San Mames.

Alessio Lisci's side have won just one of their previous six matches, although they have managed to avoid defeat in their last three outings.

After squeezing past Girona by a 1-0 scoreline, Osasuna played out an entertaining 2-2 scoreline with Alaves before they drew 1-1 in their most recent clash against Real Betis.

Ante Budimir kept his composure from the penalty spot to cancel out Abde Ezzalzouli's opener at El Sadar, making it nine consecutive home games without defeat since losing to Real Sociedad in November.

While they boast the fifth-best home record in La Liga, Los Rojillos head on their travels with the joint-third worst away record, having mustered just 10 points from their 16 top-flight road trips.

Having recorded just two away league wins all season, Osasuna will have their work cut out to claim their first victory at San Mames since a 1-0 success in February 2020.

Athletic Bilbao La Liga form:

D L L W L L

Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):

L L L W L L

Osasuna La Liga form:

L D L W D D

Team News

Athletic midfielder Benat Prados is continuing to work on his rehabilitation from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Antoni Gorosabel could replace Inigo Lekue after featuring as a half-time substitute in the narrow defeat over Villarreal.

Nico Williams is set to retain his place in the lineup after making his first start in two months in what has been an injury-hit season for the Athletic star.

As for Osasuna, they remain without long-term absentee Iker Benito, who is recovering from a serious knee injury.

Asier Osambela will serve the second game of his two-match ban, while Alejandro Catena will complete a one-game suspension after picking up his 10th yellow card of the season.

Flavian Boyomo will return from his own suspension to replace Catena in the centre of Osasuna’s backline.

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:

Simon; Gorosabel, Vivian, Laporte, Berchiche; Jauregizar, Ruiz de Galarreta; I. Williams, Sancet, N. Williams; Guruzeta

Osasuna possible starting lineup:

Herrera; Rosier, Boyomo, Herrando, Galan; Moncayola, I. Munoz; Garcia, Oroz, V. Munoz; Budimir

We say: Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Osasuna

Athletic come into the game on the back of a poor run of results, but they have avoided defeat in their last five meetings with Osasuna, and we think they will extend that by playing out a draw against a team that has found wins hard to come by on the road.

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