Mission Must Win Against Conqueror Barcelona

Madrid, Beritasatu.com – Real Madrid faces a must-win home match against Osasuna in Week 13 of the Spanish League, Saturday (9/11/2024) evening starting at 20.00 WIB. The defending champions of La Liga and the Champions League must recover from successive defeats at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium against Barcelona and AC Milan.

Real Madrid (24 points) is still in second place in the Spanish League standings, nine points behind leaders Barcelona (33) who have played one more match. Opponents Osasuna are in fifth position, with 21 points from 12 matches.

Only five months have passed since Real Madrid won the Champions League trophy to complete their La Liga title in the 2023/2024 season, but due to the huge demands at the Bernabeu, Carlo Ancelotti’s position as head coach is starting to be questioned.

Any defeat for Los Blancos very detrimental. The giant club from the Spanish capital was slaughtered 4-0 at home by Barcelona in La Liga on October 27 2024. Then suffered a 3-1 defeat at the Bernabeu against AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday (6/11/2024) early morning WIB.

Real Madrid is currently slumped in 18th place in the Champions League standings, but is still confident of progressing. Defeat to Barcelona in a duel El Clasico certainly more damaging in terms of their confidence and position in La Liga.

Real Madrid was supposed to face Valencia in the league last weekend, but the match was postponed due to flash floods in Spain. Barcelona’s victory over Espanyol allowed the Catalan club to open up a nine-point lead at the top of the standings.

Simply put, Real Madrid must win this weekend. A bad result would put the club into a major crisis, and would probably end their chances of winning the La Liga title, even at this stage, if Barcelona can continue their good form with a win over Real Sociedad.

Kylian Mbappe is believed to be unhappy with his role in midfield. The 25 year old player has not yet found his best performance in the Real Madrid uniform. However, Ancelotti will hope the Frenchman can hit his best form this weekend.

Meanwhile Osasuna have not beaten Real Madrid in any competition since January 2011. They have also not managed to beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in La Liga since the famous 3-0 win in April 2004.

The Pamplona club have held Real Madrid to draws in two of their last three trips to the Bernabeu. Osasuna will enter this match in excellent form, having recorded three consecutive wins, two of them in La Liga.

Vicente Moreno’s team have won their last two matches in the Spanish League against Real Sociedad and Real Valladolid without conceding. They also advanced in the Copa del Rey with a landslide 5-0 win over Chiclana.

Osasuna has a record of six wins, three draws and three losses from 12 matches this season. They are fifth in the standings, just three points behind Real Madrid, who have a game in hand.

Los Rojillos is also the only team capable of beating Barcelona in the Spanish League this season. They were able to win 4-2 over the Catalan club in their home match at the end of last September.

They will now aim for a bright result at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid who have not been able to find their rhythm in the early months of the season.

Team Condition

Real Madrid is again experiencing player injury problems ahead of tonight’s match. Aurelien Tchouameni is out until perhaps next month due to an ankle injury he suffered against Milan.

Tchouameni is joined on the injury list by Thibaut Courtois, Dani Carvajal and David Alaba.

Federico Valverde was withdrawn against Milan with a back problem, but the Uruguay international is believed to be ready in midfield. Rodrygo is also likely to be included in the team, having appeared off the bench last time out.

Meanwhile, Eduardo Camavinga will be the player who benefits from Tchouameni’s absence.

From the Osasuna camp, coach Moreno could have fielded the same players when he took to the field as the players who beat Real Valladolid. Ante Budimir can continue to play on the front lines.

Budimir scored 17 goals in La Liga last season and has now scored six goals in the 2024/2025 season. The experienced player is expected to join Bryan Zaragoza and Ruben Pena in the final third of the field.

Raul Garcia, who scored two goals against Chiclana in the Copa del Rey, is still uncertain.

Osasuna currently has a fully fit squad with no problems. So Moreno will be able to play the best team of his choice.

Estimated line-up

Real Madrid: Lunin (GK), Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy, Valverde, Camavinga, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius.

Osasuna: Herrera (GK), Areso, Catena, Boyomo, Cruz, Moncayola, Torro, Oroz; Pena, Budimir, Zaragoza.