Sports Mole previews Saturday's La Liga clash between Getafe and Osasuna, including team news and predicted lineups.
Osasuna will be looking to make it successive victories at the start of their 2020-21 La Liga campaign when they travel to the Spanish capital to face Getafe on Saturday.
The visitors recorded a 2-0 victory over Cadiz in their opener last weekend, but this will be Getafe's first game of the season as their clash with Real Madrid was postponed.
Match preview
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Real Madrid's involvement in the latter stages of the Champions League means that their clash with Getafe, which was due to take place last weekend, was postponed. As a result, Getafe will open their 2020-21 La Liga campaign against Osasuna on Saturday, and the capital outfit will be determined to put three points on the board.
Jose Bordalas's side finished eighth in La Liga last season, missing out on a spot in the Europa League by two points, which will go down as a disappointment considering that they claimed fifth in 2018-19.
A disappointing end to the season saw Getafe fail to win any of their final six league matches, while they were beaten 2-0 by Inter Milan in the last-16 stage of the Europa League.
It has been a busy summer for the club in terms of transfers and loans, though, with the likes of Marc Cucurella, Enes Unal, Cucho Hernandez, Dario Poveda and Ante Palaversa all arriving.
There have also been some high-profile exits, with Jose Carlos Lazo, Enric Gallego, Vitorino Antunes and Jorge Molina departing, meaning that there will be a fresh look to the squad this term.
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Osasuna, meanwhile, opened their 2020-21 campaign with a 2-0 success at newly-promoted Cadiz last weekend; Adrian Lopez made the breakthrough in the first half before Ruben Garcia added a second late on.
After two seasons in the Segunda Division, Osasuna finished 10th in La Liga last season and were ultimately just four points off the Europa League spots, which is an indication of their achievement in 2019-20.
Dating back to June 24, Osasuna have won now won six of their last nine La Liga matches, while they have lost just one of their last eight games against Getafe in Spain's top flight.
Jagoba Arrasate's side could almost go under the radar to become top-six challengers this season, and Los Rojillos will be determined to put another three points on the board when they travel to Coliseum Alfonso Perez.
Getafe pre-season form: WWW
Osasuna La Liga form: W
Team News
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Unal, who has scored 12 times in La Liga over the last two seasons for Real Valladolid, could make his debut for Getafe on Saturday, potentially joining Jaime Mata as part of a front two.
The bulk of the home side's XI is expected to have a familiar look, though, with Mauro Arambarri and Nemanja Maksimovic likely to line up in the middle of the park.
Francisco Portillo could also earn a start in a wide area, with Cucurella also featuring, having completed a permanent move to the club from Barcelona over the summer.
As for Osasuna, a serious knee injury for Chimy Avila could rule the striker out for the majority of the season, while Darko Brasanac is also expected to miss out through injury.
Gallego is in line to face his former club, but Ruben Garcia and Adrian scored the goals against Cadiz last weekend and should therefore continue as the front two in a 4-4-2 formation.
Lucas Torro made his debut for the bench against Cadiz and is pushing for a start, while fellow new arrival Juan Cruz should continue at left-back for the visitors.
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Suarez, Dakonam, Cabaco, Olivera; Portillo, Maksimovic, Arambarri, Cucurella; Unal, Mata
Osasuna possible starting lineup:
Herrera; Vidal, Aridane, D Garcia, Cruz; Torres, Moncayola, Oier, Perez; R Garcia, Adrian
We say: Getafe 1-1 Osasuna
Getafe will be determined to start with a win, but Osasuna must be respected due to their impressive form. Both teams will feel that they are capable of causing problems in the final third of the field, and we are struggling to separate them, ultimately backing a 1-1 draw in the Spanish capital.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:curl
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