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.
Referee: Mateo Busquets Ferrer (Spain)
Matches – 14 (La Liga and Spanish Cup, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 79;
Average yellow cards per match – 5.6;
Red cards shown – 4;
Average fouls per match – 30;
Penalties – 36%.
Predicted lineups for Athletic vs. Osasuna
Athletic (4-2-3-1): Julen Agirrezabala – Oscar De Marcos, Adama Boiro, Aitor Paredes, Unai Nunez – Ander Herrera, Mikel Vesga – Nico Serrano, Alex Berenguer, Alvaro Djalo – Gorka Guruzeta.
Osasuna (4-2-3-1): Aitor Fernandez – Abel Bretones, Jesus Areso, Enzo Boyomo, Jorge Herrando Oroz – Jon Moncayola, Lucas Torro – Aimar Oroz, Ruben Garcia, Ruben Peña – Ante Budimir.
Each team's starting lineup from 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 club from Bilbao began the current campaign directly from the Round of 32, where they overcame Logrones (0-0, extra time 0-0, penalties 4-3). It is worth noting that Athletic has 24 Copa del Rey trophies. Only Barcelona has more victories in this cup (31).
- The Basques have not lost in regular time in this tournament for 10 matches (6 wins and 4 draws).
- The club has not conceded in 90 minutes in 6 out of their last 8 Spanish Cup games.
Osasuna
The team from Pamplona has smoothly passed through three stages of the Copa del Rey, consecutively defeating opponents from lower divisions. First, the club thrashed Chiclana (5-0), then narrowly overcame 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 campaign, Osasuna was stopped at 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.
- Pamplona's side 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 the clear favorites in this pairing. Athletic is known as a cup fighter and rarely loses in this tournament to opponents who are below them in the La Liga standings, let alone those playing in lower divisions. However, even when playing at home, the team does not often defeat their opponents convincingly. They also rarely score more than one goal, and the matches are generally low-scoring – in 9 of Athletic's last 12 home matches in the Spanish Cup, more than two goals were not scored.
Osasuna also performs well in this tournament but mainly achieves positive results by defeating clubs from lower leagues. Nevertheless, when Pamplona's 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 Division competitors, more than two goals were not scored in regular time. Additionally, the teams have not scored more than two goals in 6 of their last 8 encounters in La Liga and the Spanish Cup.
My prediction: Total under 2.5 goals