Osasuna vs Real Sociedad Prediction 2 February 2025

🔊 Do the "royals" have any strength left after their recent European match? Heading into the 22nd round of the Spanish La Liga, Real Sociedad approaches with a series of two consecutive defeats in the league. It's premature for Imanol Alguacil and company to think about qualifying for European competitions next season. The trip to "El Sadar" and the clash with local Osasuna certainly doesn't promise an easy walk. This is confirmed by the bookmakers' preliminary predictions: victory for the "reds" - 3.1, victory for the "white-blues" - 2.55.

📊 H2H

In the first round of the current championship, Vicente Moreno's team played a textbook counter-attacking game and returned from San Sebastian with three points - 2:0. It should be noted that the "royals" have only celebrated success once in the last 6 head-to-head matches: in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey 2023/24 season - 2:0. By the way, this was the "white-blues'" last visit to Pamplona.

🔴 OSASUNA

Osasuna's last victory in the Spanish La Liga dates back to November 2, 2024. Back then, the "reds" managed to deal with one of the season's main outsiders - Valladolid (1:0). Since then, the Pamplona team's unsuccessful streak has reached 9 rounds. As a result, the club has left the upper part of the standings and is now in 11th place. It's worth noting that Vicente Moreno usually employs a tactical scheme of 4-1-4-1, which easily transforms into 4-2-3-1. One of the features of this formation is having a target man forward. Ante Budimir is precisely such a player and the absolute leader of Osasuna. This season, the Croatian has already scored 10 goals and provided 1 assist. It's also important to mention that the defensive midfielder plays a huge role for Vicente Moreno. He acts as a link between defense and midfield. In the "reds'" roster, this role is filled by Lucas Torro, who possesses decent physical attributes. The participation of 23-year-old winger Bryan Zaragoza (injury) remains questionable.

🔵 REAL SOCIEDAD

Real Sociedad's play continues to raise significant questions. Imanol Alguacil has used a large number of different formations. However, his favorite remains the 4-1-4-1. Excellent defensive skills and a good first pass allow Martin Zubimendi to act as the only nominal defensive midfielder. Frankly, it's surprising how passive and inert the flanking defenders of the "royals" are. Only occasionally can Aihen Muñoz or Jon Aramburu be seen in the final stages of attacks. When in possession, the "white-blues" often take advantage of switching to a 4-1-3-2 formation. This allows them to create a numerical advantage on the opponent's half while enjoying great versatility. It's noteworthy that Real Sociedad has currently dropped to 9th place in La Liga standings. Additionally, Alguacil and company have an extremely low scoring rate - only 0.81 goals per game (19th result in the league).

⚽️ GOAL PREDICTION

Both teams play fairly similar football, paying great attention to defensive actions. The "royals" are one of Spain's most pragmatic teams this season. Note that in 8 of the last 10 head-to-head matches, no more than three goals were scored. Considering both clubs' urgent need for points, our editorial team does not believe in a goal-scoring extravaganza this coming Sunday. We'll go with a total of under 2.5 goals.

🚩 CORNER PREDICTION

We suggest forming a bet based on the ratio of corners earned and conceded by both teams this season. Osasuna shows a negative trend: 4 against 5.4. Meanwhile, the "royals" exhibit quite the opposite: 6 against 4.8. It's also worth noting that in the previous 5 encounters, the "white-blues" did not lose to their opponents in terms of corner kicks taken. Our choice - Real Sociedad will not lose on corners.

📝 MATCH PREDICTION

Osasuna is in unenviable form in recent matches. However, it would be foolish to deny the effectiveness of the "reds" in home games - 19 points after 11 games (5th best in the league). Moreover, Real Sociedad has not been performing well in recent head-to-head meetings with the Pamplona team. The additional physical burden from their recent Europa League game will also be a significant factor in determining the winner this coming Sunday. Our prediction for the final score is 0:0. Key bet - Osasuna will not lose.