Spanish Super Cup: Barcelona vs Osasuna prediction, head-to-head, lineups

Barcelona and Osasuna will strive to secure their place in the Spanish Super Cup final as they clash in Saudi Arabia today.

The Catalan giants enter the competition as the reigning La Liga champions, while Osasuna are participating in the Super Cup after finishing as runners-up in last season's Copa del Rey.

Barcelona heads to Saudi Arabia aiming to retain the trophy they won last season after a penalty shootout victory over Real Betis, followed by a 3-1 win against rivals Real Madrid in the final.

Although this success marked Barcelona's first win in the competition since the introduction of the four-team format in 2018-19, the Catalan giants are the record holders, having lifted the trophy 14 times.

Ending 2023 with a 3-2 win over Almeria, Xavi's side started the new year with victories over Las Palmas and fourth-tier Barbastro in the Copa del Rey. Despite winning three consecutive games, Barcelona may be frustrated by their failure to dominate, with their last 12 victories all coming by a one-goal margin.

While Xavi may want a more dominant performance, his main focus is guiding Blaugrana to their third Super Cup final in four seasons.

Facing Osasuna, whom they've beaten in six of their last seven encounters (D1), including a 2-1 win in September, Barcelona is confident. Osasuna, in their first-ever Super Cup appearance, reached last season's Copa del Rey final but fell to a 2-1 defeat against Real Madrid.

Osasuna finished seventh last season but struggled this time, currently in 12th place with 22 points from 19 league matches. Despite difficulties, they've proven tough defensively, keeping three clean sheets in their last four outings.

As underdogs, Osasuna needs defensive resilience to challenge Barcelona for a spot in Sunday's final against Real Madrid. However, beating Barcelona, undefeated against Osasuna for over three years, is no easy task.

Head-to-Head Statistics

Total Matches:- 43

Barcelona won:- 27

Osasuna won:- 6

Draw:- 10

Team News

Barcelona remain without Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Marcos Alonso due to back issues, while Gavi is sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Inigo Martinez, Joao Cancelo, and Pedri are doubtful due to various injuries. Ilkay Gundogan has recovered from illness.

Osasuna excludes Chimy Avila due to injury, but Unai Garcia is likely to feature. Jon Moncayola, Aimar Oroz, Moi Gomez, Ante Budimir, and Arnaiz are expected to feature in the front three.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

Pena; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Balde; Roberto, De Jong, Gundogan; Raphinha, Torres, Lewandowski

Osasuna possible starting lineup:

Herrera; Areso, D. Garcia, Catena, Pena; Moncayola, Torro, Oroz; Arnaiz, Gomez, Budimir

Prediction

While Barcelona has the quality to beat Osasuna, recent victories suggest a narrow scoreline, as they've won by a one-goal margin in their previous three meetings with Los Rojillos.

Prediction: Barcelona 2-1 Osasuna

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