The visitors are currently occupying seventh spot in the Spanish top flight standings, having collected 50 points from 35 games, just a solitary point clear of eighth-placed Girona.
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Athletic Club will be looking to enhance their chances of securing a European spot when they make the trip to El Sadar on Thursday to take on Osasuna in a La Liga fixture. The visitors are currently occupying seventh spot in the Spanish top flight standings, having collected 50 points from 35 games, just a solitary point clear of eighth-placed Girona and six adrift of sixth-placed Real Betis, who have played a game more. Los Rojillos, meanwhile, are sitting at the tenth position, with 47 points to their name. With three games remaining, the hosts also have a chance of securing a Europa Conference League spot.
🔥 Crunch match at El Sadar!
Read our 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗸 for everything you need to know ahead of tonight’s @LaLigaEN showdown.#OsasunaAthletic #AthleticClub 🦁
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) May 25, 2023
Osasuna are heading into the match on the back of a disappointing 3-0 defeat away to third-placed Atletico Madrid last Sunday. Los Rojillos suffered their 14th league-defeat of the season at Wanda Metropolitano courtesy of second-half efforts from Yannick Carrasco, Saul Niguez and Angel Correa. Prior to that, Jagoba Arrasate’s men got the better of Almeria 3-1 thanks to goals from Ante Budimir, Abde Ezzalzouli and Moi Gomez. It was their 13th top flight victory of the campaign. Since returning to La Liga in 2019, Osasuna have finished 10th and 11th in three consecutive seasons, but Los Rojillos have the chance to improve on mid-table security this time and could possibly challenge of a top seven finish. That said, the Pamplona outfit have taken just three points from their last five outings, losing four games in the process. Meanwhile, on a positive note, Arrasate’s side have won their of their last four fixtures at El Sadar, with back-to-back victories over Elche and Real Betis.
Athletic Bilbao, on the other hand, claimed a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo last time out, courtesy of goals from Inaki Williams and Alex Berenguer. It was the Lions’ 14th league-win of the season and the result ended their four-game winless streak, that included three sucessive defeats. However, weekend’s victory means Ernesto Valverde’s men have won four of their last eight matches in the top flight. It is also worth noting that, the Lions have lost just one of their last six away-games, taking 11 points from a possible 18 since losing to Atletico back in February. Athletic, who are in pole position to qualify for next season’s Europa Conference League, will take on rock-bottom side Elche and second-placed Real Madrid in their final two fixtures.
Thursday’s fixture will be the fourth meeting between these two sides since the turn of the year, having faced each other in the two-legged Copa del Rey semi-final in March and April. Osasuna secured a 2-1 aggregate victory to enter the final where they were eventually beaten by Real Madrid. Meanwhile, the reverse fixture in the top flight in January ended in a goalless draw. With 89 matches played between these two sides across all competitions, Athletic have an upper hand when it comes to the head-to-head record having prevailed on 42 occasions, while Los Rojillos have secured 20 victories and 27 meetings ended in draws.
| Key Details | Stats |
| Total matches | 89 |
| Osasuna won | 20 |
| Athletic Bilbao won | 42 |
| Draws | 27 |
| Total Osasuna goals | 86 |
| Total Athletic Bilbao goals | 143 |
| Biggest Osasuna win | 3-0 (2007) |
| Biggest Athletic Bilbao win | 5-0 (1985) |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Athletic Bilbao draw Osasuna | 1-1 |
| Osasuna beat Athletic Bilbao | 1-0 |
| Athletic Bilbao draw Osasuna | 0-0 |
| Athletic Bilbao beat Osasuna | 2-0 |
| Athletic Bilbao beat Osasuna | 1-3 |
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