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

High-flying Elche will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in La Liga when they travel to Estadio El Sadar to face Osasuna on Thursday evening.

The two teams butt heads for the first time since April 2023 when Los Rojillos secured a 2-1 top-flight home win over Los Franjiverdes.

Match preview

Competing in the top division of Spanish football for the seventh successive season, Osasuna have made an inconsistent start to the 2025-26 campaign, alternating between defeat and victory across their opening five matches.

Home wins over Valencia and Rayo Vallecano have taken place in between defeats suffered against Real Madrid, Espanyol and Villarreal, most recently losing 2-1 away against the latter last weekend.

Alessio Lisci’s side had Valentin Rosier sent off shortly before Ante Budimir convert from the penalty spot to give the visitors the lead at the interval, but Villarreal took advantage of the extra man after the break and scored twice in the final 20 minutes, including an 85th-minute winner from Pape Gueye.

Sitting 13th in the La Liga standings, Osasuna will welcome a return to Estadio El Sadar where they have won each of their last six La Liga matches, keeping five clean sheets in the process - the longest current run for a team without conceding at home in the division.

Los Rojillos also boast a 12-match unbeaten run against Thursday’s opponents Elche (W8 D4); only against Cadiz between 1989 and 2024 (W12 D6) do they have a longer unbeaten streak against a single opponent as a top-flight club.

After finishing second in the Segunda Division to secure automatic promotion back to the top flight last season, Elche have made a positive start to their La Liga campaign, collecting nine points from their opening five matches.

Los Franjiverdes have shared the spoils with Real Betis, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, while they have picked up maximum points in victories over Levante and Real Oviedo, beating the latter 1-0 on home soil last weekend.

Eder Sarabia hailed Elche’s “magnificent” first 60 minutes before enduring a nervy final half-hour against Oviedo as they held on for the victory, and he now sees his team sitting fifth in the La Liga table, three points ahead of Thursday’s opponents Osasuna and only one point behind the top three.

Elche travel to Estadio El Sadar having won only one of their last nine away encounters with Osasuna (D3 L5) - a 3-1 victory in their first top-flight visit back in April 1960 - while they have also conceded in all nine of those away meetings (17 goals in total).

In addition, Los Franjiverdes have never won on a Thursday in four attempts away from home in La Liga (D1 L3), while Osasuna have come out on top in five of their six top-flight matches played on a Thursday, which does not bode well for Sarabia’s side.

Osasuna La Liga form:

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Elche La Liga form:

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Team News

Osasuna will be without Rosier due to suspension, while Aimar Oroz and Moi Gomez are both sidelined with respective foot and muscle injuries.

The absence of Rosier leaves Lisci light for options at right wing-back and could force Abel Bretones to operate in that position, with Jon Moncayola potentially moving over to the left flank, while Iker Munoz is pushing to start his first game of the season in midfield.

As for Elche, Martim Neto will have a muscle injury assessed ahead of kickoff, while Yago Santiago, Adria Pedrosa and Alvaro Rodriguez also require late fitness tests.

Rafa Mir is Elche’s top scorer so far this term with three goals in five games and he is expected to continue in attack alongside Andre Silva, who is looking to score for the third league match in a row.

Osasuna possible starting lineup:

Herrera; Boyomo, Catena, Cruz; Bretones, Torro, I. Munoz, Moncayola; Garcia, Budimir, V. Munoz

Elche possible starting lineup:

Pena; Nunez, Affengruber, Bigas; Josan, Febas, Mendoza, Valera; Diangana; Mir, Silva

We say: Osasuna 1-1 Elche

Taking into account Osasuna’s strong home form and Elche’s impressive unbeaten start to the new season, a closely-contested battle could be on the cards on Thursday and both teams may have to settle for a share of the spoils.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.