Preview: Osasuna vs. Celta Vigo - prediction, team news, lineups

Osasuna will be looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat when they welcome Celta Vigo to El Sadar in La Liga on Sunday.

The visitors will also be looking to respond after suffering their first defeat of the season in their last game.

Match preview

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The hosts come into this game on the back of a hefty 4-0 away defeat at the hands of Girona, with goals from Bryan Gil, Viktor Tsygankov, Abel Ruiz and Cristhian Stuani ending their six-game unbeaten La Liga run.

Goals have been hard to come by for Osasuna of late too, as they have only scored twice in their opening three league games under new manager Vicente Moreno; the Spaniard took the job following Jagoba Arrasate's decision to join fellow La Liga side Mallorca after six years at the helm.

It is a tough act to follow Arrasate, who led Osasuna to La Liga promotion, a Copa del Rey final and qualification for the Europa Conference League during his tenure, but last weekend's 1-0 win over Mallorca is certainly a way for Moreno to announce himself to his new club.

Moreno has also brought in some exciting young players as he looks to build his team, with defenders Enzo Boyomo and Abel Bretones signing permanent deals and winger Bryan Zaragoza joining on loan from Bayern Munich.

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Celta Vigo visit El Sadar on the back of two wins and a defeat from their opening three games, with the most recent being a pulsating 4-3 loss away to Villarreal on Monday.

Goals from Borja Iglesias, Oscar Mingueza and Carl Starfelt almost handed Los Celestes a valuable away point, but a Dani Parejo strike deep into injury time gave Villarreal the share of the spoils.

Despite defeat in their last game though, Celta Vigo have made an impressive start to their campaign with victories over Alaves and Valencia, and with a 3-0 success in this away fixture last season they can be confident of making it three wins from four in the league this Sunday.

This is manager Claudio Giraldez's first full season in charge of Celta Vigo, after the Spaniard replaced Rafa Benitez back in March, and after a disappointing 13th-place finish last term he will be hoping to guide his team to a top-half finish come May.

Giraldez has added some exciting players to his squad over the summer too, with Unai Nunez and Marcos Alonso joining on permanent deals, and Ilaix Moriba and Iglesias coming in on loan for the season.

Team News

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Osasuna will be without Kike Barja (cruciate ligament) and Iker Munoz (foot), who are both expected to return in October, and right-back Ruben Pena (muscle) will once again miss out here.

Should Moreno opt to rotate following their recent 4-0 defeat, Raul Garcia and Ruben Garcia could push for starts in the attacking positions, and Pablo Ibanez could also start alongside Lucas Torro in the heart of the midfield.

Celta Vigo meanwhile have a fully-fit squad to pick from and having had three extra days of rest compared to their opponents, rotation is of less urgency for Giraldez.

Should the manager opt to make just a few changes, Iglesias and Fran Beltran could be recalled here in place of Jonathan Bamba on the wing and Moriba in midfield.

Osasuna possible starting lineup: Herrera; Vidal, Catena, Herrando, Cruz; Torro, Ibanez; Moncayola, Oroz, Zaragoza; Budimir

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup: Villar; Jailson, Starfelt, Dominguez; Carreira, Rodriguez, Beltran, Mingueza; Aspas, Iglesias, Douvikas

We say: Osasuna 1-2 Celta Vigo

Despite suffering a defeat in their last outing, Celta Vigo have demonstrated that they are capable of scoring goals in the early stages of the season, but Osasuna on the other hand appear to still be finding their shooting boots.

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