Sevilla welcome Osasuna to the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán on 26 October 2026 in a La Liga fixture that matters more than a mid table Tuesday night usually does. Sevilla sit sixth with 14 points from nine matches and are chasing European qualification after an inconsistent run that included a 1-4 thrashing at Real Madrid on 18 October, whereas Osasuna arrive in eleventh place with 11 points, newly revived under Jagoba Arrasate and looking to prove the bounce from his first game in charge travels away from home.
There is not much to go on between Luis García Plaza and Jagoba Arrasate as opposing managers. García Plaza only took charge of Sevilla on 24 March 2026 replacing Matías Almeyda and Arrasate returned to Osasuna as recently as 12 October 2026 after Luis Miguel Ramis was let go, so their previous meetings in other roles offer little tactical insight here.
Sevilla's last five reads W-D-L-L-W and the 1-4 collapse at Real Madrid exposed their defence badly, with the questions that performance raised still very much unanswered. Osasuna looked immediately sharper under Arrasate with a 2-0 home win over Racing Santander on 18 October in his first game in charge while punishing Racing efficiently on the break, though the away record under him remains untested. Worth noting: Osasuna won 2-1 at this ground back in April, having already lost 1-0 to Sevilla earlier in the 2025/26 season at the same venue, so both sides know what this fixture can produce.
Sevilla are without three players through injury: Marcão (muscle), Miguel Sierra (collarbone) and Jon Guridi (groin). Losing Marcão and Sierra reduces their defensive cover and will make García Plaza more conservative about how his side builds out from the back. Osasuna are also missing Jorge Herrando (groin/adductor) and Aimor Oroz (hamstring), which complicates the midfield balance Arrasate has been trying to establish since arriving.
Sevilla are expected to set up in their usual 4-2-3-1 with Youssouf Fofana doing the defensive screening work in midfield and Isaac Romero returning from suspension to lead the attack. With Marcão unavailable, Fofana will probably be asked to cover even more ground than usual, which is a lot to ask. Romero's return is the most important piece of team news for Sevilla: he gives them something to aim at in behind, which they have lacked without him.
Osasuna favour a 4-3-3, with Jon Moncayola and Iker Muñoz looking to break up Sevilla's possession game and find Ante Budimir in space. Budimir has seven La Liga goals already this season, is physical in the air and sharp in the box and his duel with Sevilla's makeshift central defensive setup is the matchup worth watching most closely. Without Herrando and Oroz, Arrasate will need to shuffle his midfield, which could leave Budimir slightly more isolated than usual, though one decent counter attack is all he needs. The central question is whether Sevilla can turn possession into goals before Osasuna find him on the break and Vargas's ability to get past Osasuna's full backs matters a great deal in that equation.
Set pieces are worth watching too. Budimir is dangerous from corners and free kicks and Osasuna's organised defensive shape tends to make them a threat regardless of who is missing, while Sevilla will look to exploit those same absences at the other end.
We are going with a 2-1 Sevilla win. Budimir will make this uncomfortable as he almost always does and the set piece threat keeps Osasuna in it until the end but the absences of Herrando and Oroz may limit them to one dangerous counter attack rather than sustained pressure. Sevilla need these points, they are at home and Romero is back.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
