Preview: Osasuna vs. Sevilla - prediction, team news, lineups

Estadio El Sadar will host the opening match of the 2022-23 La Liga campaign, with Osasuna welcoming Sevilla to Pamplona on Friday night.

Osasuna finished 10th in Spain's top flight last season, securing a fourth successive campaign at this level of football, while Sevilla were fourth, which has now been the case in each of the last three seasons.

Match preview

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Osasuna were promoted back to La Liga for the 2019-20 campaign courtesy of winning the Segunda Division in 2018-19, and they have managed to consolidate in the top flight once again, finishing 10th, 11th and 10th in their last three campaigns at this level of football.

Los Rojillos were 12 points behind seventh-place Villarreal last season but will again be looking to battle for a top-half finish, and it has been a relatively busy summer in terms of incomings and outgoings.

Moi Gomez, Manu Sanchez, Aitor Fernandez and Ruben Pena have arrived to boost the squad, while there have been notable departures in the shape of Cote, Oier Sanjurjo, Rober Ibanez and Marc Cardona.

Osasuna have also been active in terms of pre-season friendlies, playing seven matches in total, winning their last three against Feyenoord, Burgos and Mirandes, so confidence should be high ahead of their return to competitive action on Friday night.

Jagoba Arrasate's side played out a goalless draw with Sevilla when the two teams last locked horns in February, but they have not beaten the Champions League side in La Liga since May 2013.

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Sevilla, meanwhile, will again play in the Champions League this season courtesy of their fourth-place finish in Spain's top flight last term.

For long spells, Julen Lopetegui's side were Real Madrid's closest challengers in terms of the title, but they ultimately finished in fourth, one point behind third-place Atletico Madrid and three behind second-place Barcelona, with the team picking up 70 points during a strong campaign.

Los Nervionenses will again be expecting to challenge high up the division this season, but they have lost some important players this summer, including central defenders Jules Kounde and Diego Carlos.

Marcao has arrived from Galatasaray, though, while Alex Telles has moved on loan from Manchester United, and Isco has joined the club on a free transfer following his release from Real Madrid.

Sevilla have also played a lot of football this summer, featuring in six friendlies in total, with a 1-0 success over Cadiz last weekend following back-to-back defeats to Arsenal and Leicester City.

Team News

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Osasuna will be without three players on Friday evening through injury, with Kike Saveiro, Aitor Fernandez and Ante Budimir all set to miss the contest.

Moi Gomez, Manu Sanchez and Pena are also pushing to make their debuts, but there is expected to be a similar look to the starting side from last season.

Lucas Torro and Darko Brasanac are expected to start in midfield, while Kike Garcia could be joined in the final third of the field by Ruben Garcia and Ezequiel Avila.

Sevilla are expected to hand debuts to Marcao and Telles on Friday, while Isco is pushing to be involved, but the 30-year-old might start the contest on the bench.

Lopetegui has a number of options in midfield, but Joan Jordan, Thomas Delaney and Ivan Rakitic could play as the three, with Lucas Ocampos and Jesus Corona potentially playing as the wide forwards.

Rafa Mir is battling Youssef En-Nesyri for the centre-forward position, while Jesus Navas and Karim Rekik are likely to be given the nod alongside Marcao and Telles at the back.

Osasuna possible starting lineup:

Herrera; Pena, U Garcia, D Garcia, Sanchez; Brasanac, Torro, M Gomez; R Garcia, Kike Garcia, Avila

Sevilla possible starting lineup:

Bounou; Navas, Marcao, Rekik, Telles; Delaney, Rakitic, Jordan; Ocampos, Rafa Mir, Corona

We say: Osasuna 1-1 Sevilla

On paper, Sevilla will be the favourites, but Osasuna are a team to be taken extremely seriously at this level of football, and we are finding it difficult to separate the two sides here. Opening-night matches are often cagey affairs, so we have had to settle on a low-scoring draw at Estadio El Sadar.

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