Preview: Huesca vs Osasuna - prediction, team news, lineups

Second-division outfit Huesca welcome top-flight Osasuna to Estadio El Alcoraz, with the two neighbouring teams battling for a place in the Copa del Rey round of 16.

This will be the first meeting between the sides in the domestic cup, while their most recent competitive encounters came in the 2020-21 La Liga season, both ending in stalemates.

Match preview

Faced with the weight of recent Copa del Rey exits at this stage, Huesca enter Wednesday’s tie aiming to avoid another such elimination for a third consecutive campaign.

Both previous exits came at home against top-flight opposition, with Rayo Vallecano claiming an extra-time win in 2023-24, followed by Real Betis securing a 1-0 victory last term.

Huesca’s journey to this stage this season has been smooth, having beaten fourth-division side Utebo 3-0 before dispatching Racing de Ferrol 2-0 on their visit to Galicia two weeks ago.

Since their last cup tie, Oscenses have played twice in the league, beginning with a 4-1 defeat to Real Valladolid before bouncing back with a 2-0 win at Cultural Leonesa last Friday.

That result leaves Huesca 15th and two points clear of the relegation zone in the Segunda Division, while marking a third victory in their last five outings across competitions (D1, L1) – an improvement on the previous four-game winless run.

Riding a wave of momentum, Bolo’s men head into Wednesday with optimism, bolstered by a decent record at El Alcoraz, though one of their two defeats in nine home matches this season (W4, D3) came in their last game at the ground.

Osasuna, meanwhile, suffered a setback this weekend as their defence was breached late by a persistent Barcelona attack at Camp Nou.

Raphinha’s goals in the 70th and 86th minutes secured a 2-0 win for the Catalans, leaving Los Rojillos 16th in the La Liga table, just above the drop zone on goal difference.

In retrospect, it has been an improvement in recent weeks for Osasuna, who suffered their first defeat in a four-game run across all competitions in the clash with Barcelona, having previously lost six of 10 outings (W2, D2).

One of their two victories during that downturn came in an emphatic 5-0 win away at lower-division Sant Jordi in the first round of the Copa del Rey, while Alessio Lisci’s side then claimed a thrilling 5-3 triumph at Ebro in the following phase.

Those have been their only successes in 11 competitive away matches this season, and with seven of the others ending in defeats, the two-time runners-up (2004-05 and 2022-23) might well be worried about suffering their earliest domestic cup exit in four years.

Huesca Copa del Rey form:

Huesca form (all competitions):

Osasuna Copa del Rey form:

Osasuna form (all competitions):

Team News

Huesca will once again be without the injured trio of Jordi Martin, Javi Mier and Diego Aznar, all continuing their recovery from serious knee injuries.

Centre-back Hugo Perez, midfielder Oscar Sielva, and attackers Sergi Enrich and Samuel Ntamack were absent last time out, making their availability for Wednesday uncertain.

Bolo is likely to field a similar XI to the weekend, with Enol Rodríguez, who found the net last time out, expected to start upfront once again in the manager’s favoured 4-4-2.

Aside from long-term absentee Iker Benito, who remains sidelined with a knee injury, Osasuna do not have other confirmed absentees.

Left-back Juan Cruz missed the trip to Barcelona, leaving his involvement for Wednesday uncertain, while defender Enzo Boyomo will be unavailable due to international duty with Cameroon at the African Cup of Nations.

Aitor Fernandez is expected to resume cup duties between the sticks, with first-choice goalkeeper Sergio Herrera likely to be rested as in the previous two rounds.

Raul Garcia has scored five of Osasuna’s 10 goals in this season’s Copa del Rey and is expected to feature in attack once more, so it would not be a surprise if veteran striker Ante Budimir makes way.

Huesca possible starting lineup:

Jimenez; Carrillo, Pina, Pulido, Alonso; Perez, Alvarez, Kortajarena, Ojeda; Rodriguez, Portillo

Osasuna possible starting lineup:

Fernandez; Arguibide, Catena, Osambela, Bretones; Moncayola, I Munoz, Gomez; Becker, Garcia, V Munoz

We say: Huesca 1-2 Osasuna

Given the narrow margins in their previous meetings, this encounter promises to be competitive, especially given Osasuna have yet to win any of the last five competitive clashes with Huesca (D3, L2), but we anticipate the visitors to prevail thanks to their superior pedigree in the Copa del Rey.

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