Osasuna and Espanyol clash as relegation pressure rises

Osasuna vs – Osasuna and Espanyol meet at El Sadar with both clubs on 42 points, separated only by goal difference and needing results from a final stretch that could decide their top-flight survival.

Sunday evening at El Sadar carries a different kind of weight for Osasuna and Espanyol: not just three points, but the sense that the season’s last turning point is arriving early enough to matter.

Both teams head into the fixture level on 42 points, with Osasuna sitting 13th and Espanyol 14th.. They are separated only by goal difference. with Osasuna on 43 scored and 47 conceded across 36 matchdays. and Espanyol on 40 scored and 53 conceded.. With the final two games still capable of reshaping who stays in LaLiga. the match has the feel of a direct confrontation between two clubs trying to keep their future on the same side of the line.

Osasuna arrive buoyed by momentum that will be harder to ignore after a confidence-boosting 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.. That result came after a far more troubling run for Manolo Gonzalez’s side: Osasuna have won just once in their last five matches. suffered four defeats. and endured three consecutive losses.. The most recent defeat was at home against Atletico Madrid. a 2-1 in which Kike Barja’s 90th-minute consolation did not soften the blow for the home supporters.

There is also a sharper edge to Osasuna’s sense of urgency.. In the standings. only four points separate 11th place from 19th. and six points remain available that could determine who drops out of the top flight.. Before this weekend. Osasuna’s record already suggested they had margin to breathe. but the recent sequence—particularly those three straight defeats—has pulled them anxiously closer to the sides below them.

Espanyol’s situation mirrors that tension, even if their recent results have looked more uneven.. Alessio Lisci’s team have also been stuck on 42 points. but with a slightly inferior goal difference. leaving them below their hosts in 14th.. Their away record has been a major problem throughout the campaign: just four wins. five draws and nine defeats on the road for 17 points.. At home. though. they have been more dependable. posting nine home wins alongside five draws and four defeats. and Lisci’s side now face back-to-back home fixtures after this trip.

Form across the last five matches has been inconsistent as well: Espanyol have won once. drawn once. and lost three times in that period.. The timing of their solitary win may matter.. It came in their most recent outing. when they beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at home. sealed by substitute goals from Pere Milla and Kike.. That victory marked an emotional first win of 2026 for Gonzalez and his squad. their first three points in 143 days since a 2-1 triumph over Athletic Club in December 2025.

The head-to-head record adds little clarity. Espanyol took a 1-0 win in the most recent meeting at their own ground. Over the last five encounters, Osasuna have won two, Espanyol one, and two matches have ended in a draw.

For the matchup itself, key absences could shape the balance.. Osasuna will be without Victor Munoz, sidelined with a calf injury ahead of Sunday’s fixture.. Ante Budimir is expected to carry the greatest goal threat for the hosts: he has netted 17 goals in 2. 773 minutes this season. including five headed goals and 12 big chances converted. with danger from close range and set pieces.. Ruben Garcia leads Osasuna’s creative work, bringing five assists, 71 corners, and 21 accurate crosses through the campaign.

Espanyol will miss Cyril Ngonge, who is nursing a knock.. Javi Puado has been absent since January following a cruciate ligament injury.. Eduardo Exposito is listed as the visitors’ most important creative outlet. with six assists and 311 passes into the penalty area this season. and his ability to dictate the tempo at El Sadar is described as central to Espanyol’s chances.

The match is also expected to be influenced by who sparks from the bench. The goals for the 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao came from substitute Pere Milla and Kike, and the attacking players who came off the bench in that win are seen as potential candidates for starting roles on Sunday.

In the most recent stretch of results. each club has been pulled toward the same uncomfortable truth: Osasuna have slid into three consecutive losses after winning just once in their last five matches. while Espanyol’s last five reads as one win. one draw and three defeats. even after a 2-0 Athletic Bilbao victory that broke a 143-day wait for points.. Both sides start this weekend on 42 points with a goal-difference separation. which turns the recent swings into a direct test of who can arrest the drop.

Osasuna’s possible starting lineup is listed as Fernandez; Rosier, Boyomo, Catena, Galan; Moncayola, Torro; Garcia, Gomez, Moro; Budimir.

Espanyol’s possible starting lineup is listed as Dmitrovic; Romero, Cabrera, Riedel, El Hilali; Roca, Lozano, Gonzalez de Zarate, Sanchez; Fernandez, Exposito.

With so much at stake and both sides unable to afford a slip, Sunday’s fixture is expected to stay tense and nervy for much of the night. The expectation is a cagey 90 minutes, with few clear openings at either end.

Osasuna’s record at El Sadar is positioned as their greatest asset all season. and with Espanyol having won just four times on the road this season. the hosts are tipped to edge a tight contest that keeps their survival hopes in their own hands.. The prediction given for the game is Osasuna 1-0 Espanyol.

Osasuna Espanyol LaLiga El Sadar relegation battle match preview Budimir Exposito Munoz injury Ngonge knock Pere Milla Kike goals