While optimism might have engulfed the Bilbao camp in light of their good La Liga standings, the situation at Osasuna is more along the lines of dour. And it ought to be, as Athletic are on track to achieve a top 4 finish, while Osasuna, despite having a 6-point gap with the relegation zone, is still dangerously close to the bottom.
Athletic Bilbao Team News
As it is shaping up to be, this is the season in which Athletic Bilbao will achieve the desired top 4 finish and return to UCL football. Ernesto Valverde’s side has a comfortable advantage over Villarreal and Real Betis and is undefeated at home since August 2024. An integral part of this achievement has been a strong defensive foundation that has made The Lions a fearsome outfit as hosts. No other team has conceded fewer goals in La Liga this season than Bilbao. Prior to the international break, Athletic managed to pick themselves up after 2 consecutive losses and are now on a 3-game unbeaten streak across all competitions. Looking at the team’s last 5 competitive games at San Mamés, we can see 17 goals scored by Valverde’s side, which equals 3.4 goals scored per game in that period.
CA Osasuna Team News
Osasuna returned to club football earlier than the rest, as the team faced Barcelona on Thursday. Alas, that fixture ended in a 3-0 win for Blaugrana, which left Los Rojillos 14th with just 6 points separating them and the relegation zone. The loss against Barcelona also extended Osasuna’s poor run of form to 7 consecutive games across all competitions without a win. Looking only at La Liga fixtures, Los Rojillos are also without a win in any of their last 5 league travels, although their most recent win on the road came against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey. But if we are to look for a La Liga win on the road, we will have to go way back to October, when Osasuna secured their last away league win over Real Sociedad.
Head-to-Head-Games
The H2H results between Athletic and Osasuna reveal that neither team has any real advantage across the last 5 games played between them. Each has 2 wins to their name, and although Bilbao are a solid team at home, they have won just 1 of their last 5 league fixtures as hosts against Osasuna.
| Rank | Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | Current form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Athletic Bilbao | 29 | 14 | 11 | 4 | 22 | 53 | WLDWD |
| Rank | Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | Current form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | CA Osasuna | 29 | 7 | 13 | 9 | -9 | 34 | LDLLD |
Athletic Bilbao – CA Osasuna Betting Prediction
Athletic Bilbao have a good advantage over Villarreal and Real Betis, but they must not drop their guard and continue picking up points if they are to keep the 4th spot. Valverde’s team must heavily lean onto their solid home performances if they are to get something out of an opponent against whom they have faced issues in recent games.
On the other hand, Osasuna must start picking up point soon and fast, lest they be dragged into a relegation battle. The team’s poor results on the road don’t give much hope against a team that is as solid as Bilbao as hosts.
While looking at the stats and H2H results, it becomes evident that Athletic Bilbao tends to score a healthy amount of goals during home fixtures. They have scored at least 2 in 4 of their last 5 competitive home fixtures and during their 2 most recent games as hosts to Osasuna. Thus, my pick for this game will be for Athletic Bilbao over 1.5 goals. Given their solid goal-scoring form in general and in the H2H with Osasuna, I believe this to be a good pick here.
Betting Tip: Athletic Bilbao Over 1.5 Goals
Bookmaker: Stake
Odds: 1.65
Stake
Place your bet on Athletic Bilbao – CA Osasuna at Stake