UD Almería vs CA Osasuna - A Struggle Against Relegation

Next Friday, Almería will measures forces with Osasuna at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos for round 32 of Liga BBVA on what will be a crucial match for both sides if they want to keep their aspirations of granting a place at the top flight of Spanish football next season. Last weekend, Almería was defeated at the Nuevo José Zorrilla Stadium by a Valladolid side that is also at the bottom of the table struggling to survive an hypothetical relegation.

The team from Francisco Rodríguez was not able to cope with the pressure exerted by Valladolid, which dominated the entire match, and ended up losing 1-0 thanks to a Manucho goal. After defeating Real Sociedad and forcing Valencia to draw at Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos, Almería are hoping that their return to home matches could mean the return to the good performances and to positive results.

For next Friday’s match, Francisco Rodríguez will not be able to count on Sebastián Dubarbier and on Hans Martínez, who are still recovering from long term injuries, and on the Argentinean centre back Torsiglieri, who is suspended.

As for Osasuna, the team from Pamplona are definitely going through one of their worst moments this season. After defeating the league leaders (Atlético Madrid) at El Sadar back in February, Osasuna embarked on six match row without a single win. The team has only managed to grab a single point during the last six matches and currently occupies the 18th place at the league table, being equal on points with Almería and Valladolid. Osasuna’s record away from home is far from being impressive, as the team lost already ten matches away from Pamplona.

When both teams met at El Sadar last November, the Andalusia team surprised the home side by winning the match with a single goal from Rodrí.

Almería will have everything in their favour to win next Friday’s match against Osasuna, since they are playing at home in front of their supporters and they will certainly try to take advantage of the nightmarish moment the Pamplona’s team is going through right now.

Almería

W-8 L-17 D-6

Recent Form - LLWDL

Osasuna

W-8 L-17 D-6

Recent Form - LLLLD

Possible Line-ups

Almería (4-2-3-1) – Esteban, Rafita, Trujillo, Marcelo Silva, Mané, Tébar, Corona, Suzo, Soriano, Vidal, O. Díaz

Osasuna (4-2-3-1) - A. Fernández - Bertrán - Loties - Arribas - Damiá - F. Silva - Loe - Cejudo - Torres - Armenteros - O. Riera

Prediction: Almería 1 Osasuna 0