Real Sociedad will be looking to ensure that they enter the November international break top of La Liga when they travel to Estadio El Sadar on Sunday evening to take Osasuna.
The Basque outfit are currently one point clear of second-placed Real Madrid at the summit, while Osasuna are also enjoying a strong campaign, currently sitting seventh in Spain's top flight.
Match preview
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Osasuna have won five, drawn four and lost three of their 12 La Liga matches this season to collect 19 points, which has left them in seventh spot in the table, just three points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.
Los Rojillos have finished 10th and 11th in their last two campaigns at this level, and the indications thus far are that they are more than capable of claiming a top-half finish come the end of this season.
Jagoba Arrasate's side suffered a 2-0 loss at Sevilla last weekend but picked up a point away to Real Madrid on October 27, and they have been victorious in three of their last six league fixtures.
Osasuna now have two more tough matches against Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid either side of the international break, but they are more than capable of matching the best sides in the division.
That said, the home side have not actually beaten Real Sociedad in La Liga since May 2012, although two of the last three meetings between the two teams have finished level.
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Real Sociedad have been the standout team in Spain's top flight this season, winning seven, drawing four and losing one of their 12 matches to collect 25 points, which has left them top of the division.
The Basque outfit have played one game more than the three teams immediately below them - Real Madrid, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid - but a win in this match would ensure that they enter the international break top of the division regardless of results elsewhere.
Real Sociedad's league performance is even more impressive considering that they are playing in the group stage of the Europa League, while the club have also had a number of injuries to key players.
Imanol Alguacil's side played out a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao in the Basque derby last weekend before repeating the same scoreline against Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday, which has left them second in Group B, picking up six points from their four matches in the section.
The White and Blues are now unbeaten in all competitions since losing at Barcelona on the opening weekend of the 2021-22 La Liga season - a run that stretches 15 matches.
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Team News
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Osasuna will again be without the services of goalkeeper Sergio Herrera due to a hamstring problem, while Aridane Hernandez remains unavailable for selection, as he battles a muscular injury.
There is a chance that Arrasate could switch to a 4-3-3 formation for this match, with Roberto Torres and Inigo Perez potentially dropping out of the first XI.
Kike appeared off the bench against Sevilla and could now come in for a start, while Lucas Torro is pushing to be involved in the middle of the park alongside Darko Brasanac and Oier.
As for Real Sociedad, Asier Illarramendi, Carlos Fernandez, Mikel Oyarzabal, Jon Guridi and Nacho Monreal remain unavailable for selection through injury.
Head coach Alguacil will certainly make changes from the side that started on Thursday, with Mathew Ryan, Joseba Zaldua and Aritz Elustondo set to return, while Alexander Isak, who has three league goals to his name this season, will lead the line.
Alexander Sorloth was on the scoresheet against Sturm Graz but is likely to drop down to the bench for this match, with Adnan Januzaj and Portu potentially supporting Isak in attack.
Osasuna possible starting lineup:
Perez; Vidal, U Garcia, D Garcia, Cote; Torro, Brasanac, Oier; Avila, Kike, R Garcia
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Zaldua, Elustondo, Le Normand, Rico; D Silva, Merino, Zubimendi; Januzaj, Isak, Portu
We say: Osasuna 1-1 Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad will be desperate to enter the international break off the back of a win, but Osasuna must be taken incredibly seriously at this level of football. As impressive as the league leaders have been this season, we believe that they will drop two points against a well-organised Osasuna outfit.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Real Sociedad win with a probability of 49.14%. A draw had a probability of 28.1% and a win for Osasuna had a probability of 22.72%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Sociedad win was 0-1 with a probability of 15.54%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.42%) and 1-2 (8.48%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.65%), while for a Osasuna win it was 1-0 (9.43%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 10.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Real Sociedad would win this match.
