Osasuna vs Sevilla

Osasuna will aim to keep their slim European hopes alive when they host struggling Sevilla at El Sadar on Thursday night in a crucial La Liga encounter.

While Los Rojillos still have an outside shot at a top-eight finish, Sevilla’s disastrous season continues, with the Andalusian giants not yet safe from relegation. Osasuna have reignited their campaign with back-to-back wins over Girona and Valladolid, cutting the gap to the European places to just two points.

Since their defeat to Barcelona in late March, Osasuna have gone four games unbeaten—a stark improvement after managing just two wins in their previous 18 matches. Manager Vicente Moreno has weathered early-season pressure, steering his side away from relegation danger and now giving fans hope of a late push for continental football.

However, their defensive frailties could prove costly. With just two clean sheets at home all season and 23 goals conceded in 16 games at El Sadar, Osasuna’s backline remains vulnerable. Yet, this fixture presents an opportunity to tighten up, as they are unbeaten in their last seven meetings against Sevilla.

A victory would not only boost Osasuna’s European ambitions but could also crush Sevilla’s fading hopes of a late surge up the table. More importantly, it would drag Jorge Sampaoli’s side deeper into the relegation scrap, especially with other struggling sides set to face off in the coming weeks.

Can Osasuna capitalize on Sevilla’s woes and keep their European dream alive? Or will the visitors finally find some form to ease their survival fears? Thursday’s clash promises high stakes for both sides.

With six games remaining, Sevilla is six points above the relegation zone and six points outside of Europe. However, their recent performance indicates that they will certainly fight to avoid relegation, as they go into this midweek group of games without a victory in five.

They would have expected more against a side now in the bottom three, but they broke a four-game losing streak with a 1-1 draw at home against Alaves over the weekend in Joaquin Caparros's first game as manager upon his return to the team.

The Rojiblancos currently have 37 points, with 40 almost certainly being plenty for safety. They will undoubtedly have enough to remain up with upcoming home games against Leganes and Las Palmas, but the Alaves result will raise some questions.

Bryan Zaragoza, a Bayern Munich loanee, returned as an unused substitute in Sunday's victory against Valladolid, but Osasuna's sole injury concern is Raul Garcia, who has been out due to an eye issue recently.

With Ante Budimir continuing in excellent form and having scored three goals and assisted on another in his past two games, the hosts have benefited from having some of the greatest players at both ends of the field this season. This is the first time in his career that he has scored more than 20 goals in a single season.

Kike Salas will return from suspension for Sevilla ahead of this match, while Nemanja Gudelj will be out after receiving his fifth booking of the season on Sunday.