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

Villarreal will be aiming to recover from four straight defeats in all competitions when they continue their La Liga campaign away to Osasuna on Saturday afternoon.

The Yellow Submarine are fourth in the La Liga table, seven points ahead of fifth-placed Espanyol, while the hosts are ninth, seven points behind sixth-placed Real Betis.

Match preview

Osasuna have a record of seven wins, four draws and 10 defeats from their 21 league matches this season, with a total of 25 points leaving them in ninth spot in the division.

Los Rojillos will enter the match off the back of a 3-1 win over Rayo Vallecano, and they have managed to triumph in three of their last five league games during a strong run of form.

Alessio Lisci's side have the sixth-best home record in La Liga this term, picking up 20 points from their 10 matches courtesy of a record of six wins, two draws and two defeats.

Osasuna have lost their last two matches against Villarreal, while they have not managed to overcome the Yellow Submarine since a 1-0 success in March 2022.

The corresponding match last season finished 2-2, though, and Osasuna are unbeaten at home against Villarreal since March 2023.

Villarreal will enter this match off the back of a 3-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, which rounded off what was a very disappointing Champions League league stage, with Marcelino's side finishing down in 35th spot in the table on one point.

The Yellow Submarine have also lost their last two league games against Real Madrid and Real Betis, so this is an important fixture for Marcelino's team.

Villarreal are still having an impressive league season, boasting a record of 13 wins, two draws and five defeats from their 20 matches to collect 41 points, which has left them fourth in the table, seven points ahead of fifth-placed Espanyol.

The Yellow Submarine are also only three points behind third-placed Atletico Madrid with a game in hand.

Villarreal have also been knocked out of the Copa del Rey, so their full focus will be on La Liga for the remainder of the season, which should aid their hopes of claiming a top-three spot.

Osasuna La Liga form:

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Osasuna form (all competitions):

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Villarreal La Liga form:

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Team News

Osasuna will again be without the services of Iker Benito due to a long-term knee injury, but Alejandro Catena is available again after serving a suspension.

Ante Budimir has been in strong form this season, finding the back of the net on 11 occasions in all competitions, and the 34-year-old will continue in the final third.

Ruben Garcia is also set to feature in the attack, while there will be a start for Victor Munoz, who has four goals in 23 appearances this season.

As for Villarreal, Logan Costa, Pau Cabanes, Willy Kambwala and Juan Foyth are out of the match through injury, while Ayoze Perez and Alfon Gonzalez are both doubts.

Head coach Marcelino will make changes to the side that started the Champions League clash with Leverkusen last time out, with Luiz Junior, Gerard Moreno, Alfonso Pedraza and Georges Mikautadze among those set to return.

Alberto Moleiro, who is Villarreal's leading goalscorer this season with eight, is also expected to feature in a forward area for the Yellow Submarine.

Osasuna possible starting lineup:

Herrera; Rosier, Boyomo, Catena, Galan; Moncayola, Torro; Ruben Garcia, Oroz, Munoz; Budimir

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

Junior; Navarro, Veiga, Mourino, Pedraza; Buchanan, Comesana, Gueye, Moleiro; Moreno, Mikautadze

We say: Osasuna 2-2 Villarreal

Villarreal need to bounce back, but this is a tricky match against an Osasuna side that have only been beaten twice at home in La Liga this season. We are expecting this to be an entertaining affair, with the points potentially being shared in a 2-2 draw.

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