Alaves host Osasuna at Estadio Mendizorrotza on 5 April 2026 in a mid-table La Liga clash with very different objectives. Alaves sit 15th on 31 points after 29 matches (8W-7D-14L, goal difference -11), just uncomfortably close to the relegation battle. Their overall form is shaky (WDLLD in the league, and WLDWLDLWDLWLLLWLLDLLWWLDDLLDW across the campaign), but home has been a relative refuge: 5 wins, 5 draws and only 4 defeats from 14, scoring 17 and conceding 16.
Osasuna arrive in 11th with 37 points from 29 games (10W-7D-12L, goal difference -1). They are stronger overall than Alaves but heavily reliant on their home form: 8 wins from 14 in Pamplona, versus just 2 wins and 3 draws in 15 away outings, with only 9 away goals scored and 19 conceded.
Head-to-Head
Head-to-head in La Liga tilts Osasuna’s way recently: a 3-0 home win earlier this season, plus a 1-0 and 2-2 in the 2023–25 league meetings, while a 1-1 draw came in Vitoria last season. The only friendly in this run (a 2-1 Alaves win) does not alter the competitive picture.
Team News
Team news could be decisive for the hosts. Alaves are without F. Garces (suspended), C. Protesoni (muscle injury) and D. Suarez (suspension for yellow cards), while key forward L. Boye – their top league scorer with 9 goals and 1 assist in 23 appearances – is questionable with a foot injury. Losing Boye would significantly blunt an attack already averaging just 1.0 goal per game (30 in 29).
Osasuna, by contrast, have a cleaner bill of health, with only I. Benito ruled out by a knee injury. They can again lean on star striker Ante Budimir, one of La Liga’s standout forwards this season: 14 goals in 28 appearances, with 66 shots (28 on target) and 4 penalties scored from 5 taken. His aerial presence and penalty-box movement are central to Osasuna’s threat, especially against an Alaves defence conceding 1.4 goals per game (41 in 29) and keeping only 3 clean sheets all season.
Tactical Overview
Tactically, Alaves have mostly lined up in 4-4-2 (15 times) or 4-1-4-1 (8), prioritising compactness and set-piece opportunities. Their home scoring rate of 1.2 goals per game, combined with conceding 1.1, suggests tight, low-scoring contests in Vitoria. Osasuna’s preferred 4-2-3-1 (14 uses) and various three-at-the-back shapes have produced a more expansive home style but a cautious, less effective away approach: just 0.6 goals scored per away game and 1.3 conceded.
Discipline
Discipline could also shape the narrative. Both sides collect plenty of yellows, especially late in matches, and Alaves have already seen multiple reds in second-half stoppage time. In a potentially tense, low-margin fixture, a dismissal cannot be ruled out.
Given Osasuna’s superior league position and the Budimir factor, but weighed against their poor away record and Alaves’ resilience at Mendizorrotza, this shapes up as a finely balanced encounter. The data leans towards a draw or a narrow Osasuna edge, with a low total of goals the likeliest pattern.
