Osasuna and Real Sociedad are back in action in the Copa del Rey when they go head to head at the El Sadar Stadium for a place in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
While the White and Blues suffered a quarter-final exit last season, the hosts made it all the way to the final before falling to a narrow defeat against Real Madrid.
Match preview
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Osasuna enjoyed an impressive Copa del Rey campaign last term as they brushed aside Real Betis, Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao to set up an exciting clash against Real Madrid in the final.
Los Rojillos showed their mettle against Carlo Ancelotti's men as Lucas Torro struck two minutes before the hour mark to cancel out Rodrigo's early opener, but Rodrigo grabbed his second of the game in the 70th minute to hand the Los Blancos their 20th title.
This was a second appearance in the Copa del Rey final for Osasuna, with their first coming back in 2005, when they fell to a similar 2-1 defeat against Real Betis at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.
Jagoba Arrasate's men head into Wednesday's game off the back of suffering their first defeat of the year as they were beaten 2-0 by Barcelona when the sides met in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals last Thursday.
Prior to that, they kicked off 2024 with two successive victories, beating Almeria 1-0 in the La Liga on January 4, three days before claiming a 1-0 extra-time win over Primera Federacion outfit CD Castellon in their Copa del Rey opener.
After two games on the road, the Pamplona outfit, who are currently 13th in the La Liga standings, now return home, where they are on a four-game unbeaten run, including successive victories over Rayo Vallecano and Almeria in their last two outings.
While Osasuna will be looking to make it three consecutive victories at the El Sadar Stadium and continue their cup run, results against Real Sociedad offer little optimism as they have won just three of the last 20 meetings between the sides while losing 13 and claiming four draws.
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Sociedad kicked off their quest for a third Copa del Rey title on November 1 when they picked up a narrow 1-0 victory over amateur side Bunol, five weeks before claiming a hard-fought 1-0 win over CE Andratx.
Imanol Alguacil's men also scraped through the round-of-32 as they needed a second-half own goal from defender Einar Galilea to claim a 1-0 victory over second-tier Malaga at the Estadio La Rosaleda on January 7.
Like Wednesday's hosts, Sociedad suffered their first defeat of the year at the weekend when they were beaten 2-1 by Athletic Bilbao in La Liga, where they are currently sixth in the table with 32 points from 20 games.
Prior to that, they were unbeaten in 12 straight matches across all competitions — six wins and six draws — a run which saw them reach the knockout stages of the Champions League after finishing first in Group D ahead of Inter Milan, Benfica and Red Bull Salzburg.
Since winning the Copa del Rey title in 2020, Sociedad have not made it past the quarter-finals, crashing out in the round-of-16 in the 2020-21 campaign before successive quarter-final exits in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
The White and Blues, whose first cup triumph came back in 1987 when they beat Atletico Madrid on penalties, now journey to the El Sadar Stadium, where they are unbeaten in each of their last nine visits, claiming five wins and four draws since a 1-0 loss in May 2012.
Team News
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Osasuna will take to the pitch without the services of Argentine forward Chimy Avila has missed the last two games after coming off injured against Almeria on January 4.
Colombian defender Johan Mojica returned from a ligament injury as he made a 13-minute cameo against Barcelona last Thursday and we expect the 31-year-old to start from the bench once again.
Meanwhile, Sociedad will be without the services of Takefusa Kubo and Hamari Traore, who are currently away on international duty with Japan and Mali respectively.
On the injury front, the Blue and Whites remain without Spanish midfielder Martin Merquelanz, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines, while Umar Sadiq is back with the club having withdrawn from the Nigeria squad at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations through a knee problem
Alvaro Odriozola was forced off injured inside the opening 20 minutes against Bilbao at the weekend and the 28-year-old defender is also a major doubt for the White and Blues.
Osasuna possible starting lineup:
Herrera; Pena, Cruz, Catena, Garcia, Areso; Gomez, Munoz, Oroz; Arnaiz, Budimir
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Marrero; Elustondo, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Tierney; Zakharyan, Merino, Zubimendi, Barrenetxea; Mendez, Oyarzabal
We say: Osasuna 1-2 Real Sociedad
Having suffered their first defeat of the year last time out, Osasuna and Sociedad will head into Wednesday's game looking to bounce back and pick up a morale-boosting result. Alguacil's men are currently on a fine run of results at the El Sadar Stadium and we fancy them coming out on top once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
