On Wednesday, there is a very interesting betting offer, and among other things, this day brings us the encounter between Barcelona and Osasuna, all as part of the postponed match of the 20th round of the Spanish championship. The start of the duel between these two teams is scheduled for 19:00.
Barcelona: No Chance for the Title!
From the very start of the championship, Barcelona has faced quite a lot of problems, and this is probably best illustrated by the current table, as the Catalans are currently in fourth place, trailing by a significant eleven points behind the leaders Girona, and ten points behind their fiercest rival, Real Madrid. As things stand, it’s almost certain that Barça will not defend their Spanish championship title, which was undoubtedly one of their primary goals at the beginning of the season.
In the last round, the former European champions suffered a defeat at home to Villarreal, in a match that saw a total of eight goals, ending 3:5 in favor of the “Yellow Submarine”, with the guests scoring the last two goals deep into stoppage time. This was the last straw, and interestingly, Xavi announced after this match that he would be leaving Barcelona at the end of the season, which came as a big surprise to many neutral fans of Spanish football, especially since Xavi was one of the key figures in securing last season’s Spanish championship title after a four-year drought.
It’s also worth noting that the team from Camp Nou recently experienced a painful defeat in the final of the Spanish Super Cup, losing 4:1 to Real Madrid in the final of this competition, a result that could have been even more decisive.
Before this defeat in the last round, Xavi’s pupils had achieved a very important victory away at Betis, winning 4:2, and in that match, as well as the one before it against Las Palmas, Barcelona secured all three points in the final moments of the game.
At home, the currently fourth-placed team has achieved eight wins but also suffered three losses, including two in the last three matches at Montjuic, where Barcelona is playing this season due to the renovation of Camp Nou.
It’s also important to remember that the Catalans will soon face the first leg of the round of 16 in this year’s Champions League edition, where the Spanish representative will clash with Napoli at the “Diego Armando Maradona” stadium. It’s certain that the focus in the coming period will be on Europe’s premier club competition, which seems to be Barcelona’s only hope for a trophy this season, although this will be no easy task.
Osasuna: Excellent Performances Lately!
We all remember the great performances of Osasuna from last season, as this team somewhat unexpectedly reached seventh place in the table, which, as is well known, leads to a playoff spot for entry into the Conference League at the end of the championship. However, immediately after the end of the championship, the team from Pamplona was first excluded from Europe, but then reinstated after an appeal, and the Spanish representative played a two-legged match against Belgium’s Club Brugge for entry into the third-tier European club competition.
The multiple-time Belgian champions have more experience in European competitions, so it’s not surprising that they managed to eliminate Osasuna, who nonetheless put up a respectable fight in the two-legged tie. The primary goal at the start of this season was to be in the middle of the table, with a note that this team should not have any problems regarding survival, but also with the statement that Osasuna would seize any opportunity to qualify for European competitions if it arose.
At this moment, the club from Pamplona is in twelfth place in the table, eight points behind seventh-placed Betis, but with one game less than the Andalusians. Lately, Jagoba Arrasate’s men have been playing quite well, so the last season’s Copa del Rey finalist has achieved three victories, one draw, and a narrow defeat in an away game against Mallorca, ending 3:2, in their last five league matches.
In the last round, the team from El Sadar drew in an away game against Sevilla, who desperately needed points from that match, and that encounter at the Sanchez Pizjuan ended with a score of 1:1. Before that, Osasuna played a great match at their home ground against Getafe, where we saw five goals, with the final score being 3:2.
Regarding away performances, the twelfth-placed team has shown solid form outside El Sadar, achieving three victories, two draws, and five losses in ten away matches, including three losses in the last five away games.
The last duel between Barcelona and Osasuna was played at the beginning of January in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup, where the Catalans won 2:0, with goals in the second half, and it’s worth noting that Osasuna was an equal opponent in the first half.
Our Betting Suggestions
Generally, it would be a huge surprise if Barcelona, after their loss to Villarreal in the last round, failed to beat Osasuna. Therefore, we highly recommend trying the HT/FT 1-1 bet, which the bookmaker 22Bet is offering at odds of 1.89.
As things stand, we are very likely to witness another highly efficient duel, so it’s ideal to try the Total over 3.5 goals bet, all with an odds of 2.33 at 22Bet.
Finally, Barcelona’s defense has shown quite a few weaknesses so far, as best evidenced by the five goals conceded to Villarreal in the last round. We believe that the least the team from Pamplona can do in this encounter is to score at least one goal, so we recommend focusing on the bet for Team 2 Total over 0.5 goals, all with an odds of 1.63 at 22Bet.
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