Granada vs Osasuna Predictions

Matchday 9 in La Liga kicks off in Andalusia this Friday evening, as last season’s automatically promoted teams Granada and Osasuna face off at Los Carmenes.

Both sides have enjoyed decent starts to life back in the Spanish top tier thus far, but it is 4^th placed Granada who edge favouritism going into this one after winning their last two games at Los Carmenes, where they have never been beaten by Los Rojillos in seven previous encounters.

Granada may have signed off for the international break with a defeat; however their 4-2 loss to leaders Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu was no disgrace.

Diego Martinez’ side were outclassed in the capital and found themselves 3-0 down with 30 minutes to play, but almost fought back for a point following goals from Darwin Machis and Domingos Duarte.

James Rodriguez put paid to the comeback in stoppage time, but Granada will nonetheless have been pleased with how they coped with such adversity after enjoying plenty of success in previous weeks.

Nazaries won four and drew one of their five previous La Liga outings, including a tremendous 2-0 victory at home to champions Barcelona on Matchday 5. Last term’s Segunda runners-up have now won their last two at Los Carmenes without conceding following a 1-0 triumph over Leganes on Matchday 7, and they fully deserve to be riding high in 4^th at this early stage of the campaign.

Granada have undoubtedly made a more impressive start than their opponents this Friday despite finishing eight points behind them in 2018/19, however Osasuna have been solid and are just three points behind despite being seven places worse off in 11^th.

Jagoba Arrasate’s side played out a goalless stalemate at home to Real Sociedad a fortnight ago to tally their fifth draw of the season, and their only reversal back in the top flight so far came away to Real Madrid (2-0) on Matchday 6.

Consequently, Los Rojillos will be confident of at least avoiding defeat in this one, and they have earned four draws in seven previous away trips to face Granada.

Nonetheless, Osasuna have never tasted victory at Los Carmenes, and look opposable for the win here from a betting perspective based on that record and Granada’s recent home form.

A draw definitely appeals as the most likely result in this Matchday 9 opener, but the stats also point towards a tight, low scoring game.

Whilst Granada’s games on the road this season have seen an abundance of goals flying in at either end, it’s been a different story at Los Carmenes where their three matches to date have produced under 2.5 goals with just one team scoring in each.

Six of the last nine meetings between this pair have seen fewer than 2.5 netted with either or both failing to score, so a similar outcome appeals this Friday.

Osasuna will again set themselves up to primarily avoid defeat, and opportunities should be limited at both ends considering the visitors have scored and conceded just seven goals in eight outings so far. Los Rojillos have posted three 0-0 draws already this term, so a repeat scoreline here is also worth a small interest.