The Round of 16 match in the Spanish Cup between Athletic and Osasuna will take place on January 16 at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao. Athletic vs. Osasuna: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Predicted lineups for Athletic vs. Osasuna
Athletic (4-2-3-1): Julen Agirrezabala – Oscar De Marcos, Adama Boiro, Aitor Paredes, Unai Núñez – Ander Herrera, Mikel Vesga – Nico Serrano, Alex Berenguer, Álvaro Djalo – Gorka Guruzeta.
Osasuna (4-2-3-1): Aitor Fernandez – Abel Bretones, Jesús Areso, Enzo Boyomo, Jorge Herrando Oroz – Jon Moncayola, Lucas Torro – Aimar Oroz, Ruben Garcia, Ruben Peña – Ante Budimir.
The starting lineup for each team in their previous match in this tournament is listed.
Athletic
Ernesto Valverde's side are the current holders of the Copa del Rey. Last year, the Basques defeated Mallorca in the tournament final (1-1, extra time 0-0, penalties 4-2). Thanks to their victory in the Spanish Cup, the Bilbao club started this season's campaign from the Round of 32, where they overcame Logroñés (0-0, extra time 0-0, penalties 4-3). It is worth noting that Athletic has won the Copa del Rey 24 times. Only Barcelona has more victories in this cup with 31.
- The Basques have not lost in regular time in this tournament for 10 matches (6 wins and 4 draws).
- The club has kept a clean sheet in 6 of their last 8 Copa del Rey matches.
Osasuna
The Pamplona side smoothly progressed through three stages of the Copa del Rey, consecutively defeating lower-division opponents. The club first crushed Chiclana (5-0), then narrowly beat Ceuta (3-2) and Tenerife (2-1). The team's best achievement in this tournament was reaching the final in the 2004/05 and 2022/23 seasons. In the previous edition, Osasuna was eliminated in the Round of 16, losing to Real Sociedad (0-2).
- The club has lost only twice in regular time in their last 13 Copa del Rey matches (6 wins and 5 draws).
- Both teams scored in 9 of Osasuna's last 13 games in this tournament.
- Osasuna has scored in regular time in 8 of their last 9 away matches in the Copa del Rey.
Athletic vs. Osasuna: Match Prediction
The hosts of the upcoming match are rightly considered the clear favorites in this pairing. Athletic is known as a cup fighter and rarely loses in this tournament to opponents ranked lower in the La Liga standings, let alone those playing in a lower division. However, even when playing at home, the team does not often secure convincing victories over their opponents. They also rarely score more than one goal, and the matches are usually low-scoring – in 9 of Athletic's last 12 home matches in the Copa del Rey, no more than two goals were scored.
Osasuna also performs well in this tournament but mainly achieves positive results by defeating clubs from lower leagues. Nevertheless, when the Pamplona side faces La Liga representatives in the Copa del Rey, they are not easily beaten, and in their last five away matches in this tournament against Primera opponents, more than two goals were not scored in regular time. It's also worth noting that the teams have not scored more than two goals in 6 of their last 8 meetings in La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
My prediction: Total under 2.5 goals
