Who: Osasuna vs Real Madrid
What: Spanish LaLiga
Where: El Sadar Stadium, Pamplona, Spain
When: Saturday at 9pm (20:00 GMT)
Follow Al Jazeera sport’s live text and photo commentary stream of the match.
Defending champions Real Madrid have the chance to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga to four points, even if only for a couple of hours, when they travel to Osasuna.
Second-placed Atletico Madrid, who drew 1-1 at Real in the sides’ last outing, are in action later on Saturday when they entertain Celta Vigo.
Barcelona, who finished second in the league phase of the Champions League, are third in the Spanish top flight – two points behind the leaders. The Catalan club travel to high-flying Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
Along with the home draw with Atletico, Real lost their previous league match in a shock defeat at Espanyol, adding to the pressure heading into the next fixture as LaLiga tightens at the top.
The form book is not completely against Carlo Ancelotti’s Real, however, as his team have won their last two cup matches, including their 3-2 win at Manchester City in their Champions League playoff first-leg tie.
What did Ancelotti say about two winless LaLiga matches?
“We are well motivated, and it’s an opportunity to keep the lead, which is our goal,” the Madrid manager told reporters on Friday.
“It’s going to be a difficult game, obviously, but we did well in the last game, and I think we have to confirm it.
“It’s a game where we have to repeat all the good things we have done in the game against City.
“The quality of this team is never in doubt – this is the way forward.
“This is where the season really starts.”
📊 DRAMA at the top and bottom of the #LALIGAEASPORTS standings! pic.twitter.com/42bDakX6Il
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) February 13, 2025
Did Ancelotti offer any news on Vinicius Junior’s future at Real Madrid?
Ancelotti said he is tired of answering questions about speculation linking forward Vinicius Jr with a move to Saudi Arabia and instead he wanted to focus on how well the player was performing.
Vinicius is believed to be close to signing a new contract with Real, but a rumoured move to Saudi Arabia was once again the main focus at the news conference before Saturday’s LaLiga game away to Osasuna.
“So many questions. Am I tired of this topic? Yes. Am I worried? No. Do I see him happy? Yes,” Ancelotti said.
“We are happy with him. There is nothing more to add than what I have added a week or two weeks ago. We don’t talk about this topic here. He doesn’t talk about it either.
“I see him as the same old Vinicius with a lot of desire to do things right. He has done it very well in the last game.”
Did the Rodri banner at Man City upset Vinicius?
That last game for Real was a 3-2 away win over City on Tuesday when Vinicius was named player of the match.
The Brazilian had been the target of a banner showing City midfielder Rodri with the Ballon d’Or trophy with the caption “Stop crying your heart out” in reference to the Real forward saying he believed he should have won the award.
“I see him very motivated, especially because of what he has done in the game against City, where he had a lot of pressure, and he has endured this pressure very well, making a difference in the game,” Ancelotti said.
“Whether he has received an offer or not, I can tell you what I see here, a happy player who wants to do things well and make history with this club.”
What are Osasuna’s chances against Real?
With Real embroiled in a battle for European survival, Osasuna are hoping to capitalise when the LaLiga leaders arrive at El Sadar.
Los Blancos host Premier League champions Man City in the second leg of their Champions League playoff on Wednesday.
Osasuna, 2023 Copa del Rey runners-up, are ninth in the league but often rise to the occasion when Spain’s biggest sides arrive in Pamplona.
In September, they romped to a 4-2 victory over Barcelona, inflicting what was the Catalans’ first league defeat of the season.
Croatian striker Ante Budimir netted twice and with 12 goals trails only Barcelona duo Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha and Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe in the standings.
In January, Budimir became Osasuna’s record overseas goal scorer and has netted 62 for the club since first arriving on loan in the 2020-2021 season from Mallorca before signing permanently.
Budimir, 33, netted a brace against Real Sociedad at the beginning of this month to earn his team an impressive victory at El Sadar that ended a nine-game winless run in LaLiga.
“[Budimir] is making history. He’s doing his thing, and he keeps doing it. He’s not going to stop,” Osasuna coach Vicente Moreno said.
“He works hard every day and can go in [good or bad] runs of form, but he’s a player who has earned his place, and for us, it’s great he’s putting them away.”
The preceding negative streak was started by a 4-0 defeat by Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, which Osasuna will try to avenge on Saturday.
10 – Only Ousmane Dembélé (15) has scored more goals in all competitions than Kylian Mbappé (10) in 2025 among players in Europe’s top five leagues.
On.#MCIRMA #UCL pic.twitter.com/bw2SF50Sy6
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 11, 2025
Osasuna team news
Osasuna will be missing suspended key centre back Flavien Boyomo, who scored their late equaliser on Monday at Mallorca.
Real Madrid team news
Madrid have a raft of defenders unavailable through injury. Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao will both miss the remainder of the season with knee injuries while Real’s problems at the back worsened before the City match with Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba both absent from the squad that travelled to Manchester.
Lucas Vazquez was also absent for the first leg with a knock and is unlikely to be risked at Osasuna.
Head-to-head
The teams have faced each other 46 times with Real winning on 31 occasions.
Osasuna have walked away with a win in only five of those games.
Real are on a five-game winning streak against their opponents with Osasuna’s last win coming courtesy of a 1-0 victory in January 2011.
Madrid won the following season’s league fixtures between the clubs 7-1 and 5-1. There have been 22 matches since Osasuna’s last win, of which Madrid have won 18.
