Barcelona returns to La Liga action sooner than expected as they host Osasuna in their rescheduled fixture on Thursday evening. The match, originally postponed due to the passing of the club\u2019s doctor, will now be crucial for the Blaugrana as they push for the league title. However, they will be without their star winger Raphinha. Can they still secure the victory?<\/p>\n
Following the international break, Barcelona faces a demanding week with back-to-back fixtures. After their showdown with Osasuna, they will have little time to rest before facing high-flying Girona on Sunday. The Catalan giants currently sit at the top of the La Liga standings, level on points with Real Madrid but ahead on goal difference. Their last league outing, a thrilling 4-2 victory over Atletico Madrid, provided a significant morale boost.<\/p>\n
Osasuna arrives at Camp Nou in dismal form, winless in their last six matches, with three draws and three defeats. Their latest setback, a 2-0 home loss to Getafe, has left them languishing in 14th place, just six points above the relegation zone.<\/p>\n
Raphinha has been an integral part of Barcelona\u2019s attack, providing width, pace, and creativity. His absence will force Hansi Flic to rely on Yamal or other attacking options. However, Barcelona still boasts world-class talent, with Lewandowski, Olmo, and Pedri capable of breaking down Osasuna\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n
Given Osasuna\u2019s poor form and Barcelona\u2019s home advantage, the Catalans are favorites to secure the three points. If they can manage fatigue and remain clinical in front of goal, they should maintain their title charge without major hiccups.<\/p>\n
Despite some tired legs, Barcelona\u2019s superior quality should be enough to overcome Osasuna. A victory would solidify their title ambitions and provide a confidence boost ahead of their crucial clash against Girona.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Barcelona returns to La Liga action sooner than expected as they host Osasuna in their rescheduled fixture on Thursday evening\u2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":217,"featured_media":36476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}