Espanyol vs Osasuna prediction, preview, team news and more | Copa del Rey 2020-21
Espanyol welcome Osasuna to the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, Barcelona in their upcoming Copa del Rey round-of-32 fixture on Sunday.
The hosts are the leaders in the Segunda Division, with 45 points from 21 games. Meanwhile, Osasuna are struggling in 19th position in La Liga with just 15 points from 18 games.
Both sides are yet to concede a goal in the cup fixtures and will be looking to keep another clean-sheet in this clash.
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Espanyol vs Osasuna Head-to-Head
The two sides have locked horns 70 times across all competitions so far. They have been pretty evenly-matched in these meetings, with 25 wins for the Periquitos and 30 wins for Los Rojillos.
The teams have also shared the spoils on 15 occasions. In their last five encounters, two games have gone either side's way and one game has ended in a draw.
These sides last met in March 2020, when Osasuna recorded a 1-0 win, thus completing a league double over Espanyol in the 2019-20 La Liga campaign.
Espanyol form guide across all competitions: W-W-L-W-W
Osasuna form guide across all competitions: L-D-W-D-D
Espanyol vs Osasuna Team News
Espanyol
The hosts have reported no new injuries to their players. The only player missing from their latest Segunda Division win over Castellon was defender Luis Lopez.
Lopez received a red card in the previous game and was serving a suspension, so he will be available for selection in this cup tie.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Osasuna
The visitors won't be able to count on Chimy Avila, Darko Brasanac, and Adrian for their trip to Barcelona, on account of injuries.
Lucas Torro is ready to rejoin the squad, but as he only recently resumed full training, his participation remains in doubt.
Osasuna have signed Manuel Sánchez on loan from Atletico Madrid and the 20-year-old is in contention to make his first appearance for the club.
Injured: Chimy Avila, Darko Brasanac, Adrian
Doubtful: Lucas Torro
Suspended: None
Espanyol vs Osasuna Predicted XI
Espanyol Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Diego López; Miguelón, David López, Fernando Calero, Adrià Pedrosa; Sergi Darder, Keidi Bare; Wu Lei, Nico Melamed, Javi Puado; Raúl de Tomás
Osasuna Predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Sergio Herrera; Juan Cruz, David Garcia, Aridane Hernandez, Nacho Vidal; Jon Moncayola; Roberto Torres, Javi Martinez Calvo, Kike Barja, Jony Rodríguez; Jonathan Calleri
Espanyol vs Osasuna Prediction
Lower-tier sides knocking out La Liga sides in the Copa del Rey is a very common sight.
Espanyol, who are the best performing side in the Segunda Division take on Osasuna, who are second from the bottom in the La Liga.
While Osasuna have scored nine times in the first two rounds of the competition, beating the in-form hosts may be easier said than done.
We predict a win for the Segunda Division leaders because of their better goalscoring record, better defensive record, and home advantage.
Prediction: Espanyol 2-0 Osasuna