Atletico Madrid will be looking to make it three La Liga victories in a row when they travel to Pamplona to take on an in-form Osasuna on Saturday evening.
Diego Simeone's side are currently fifth in the table with 11 points to show from their five matches, while Osasuna sit seventh with 10 points from their opening six fixtures of 2020-21.
Match preview
© Reuters
Osasuna finished 10th in La Liga last season after a two-year absence, and it has been an encouraging start to the current campaign for Jagoba Arrasate's side.
A record of three wins, one draw and two defeats from six matches has left them in seventh position in the table, only four points off the summit with a game in hand on leaders Real Sociedad.
Los Rojillos lost back-to-back games against Getafe and Levante at the end of September, but it has been a positive October for the club, picking up seven points from their three matches.
Ruben Garcia scored a late penalty in a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao last weekend, but Arrasate's side now have Atletico, Sevilla and Barcelona in three of their next four matches during a tough run.
© Reuters
Atletico, meanwhile, have won three and drawn two of their five league matches this season to sit fifth in the table. They are the only La Liga side yet to lose this season, while a long unbeaten record in Spain's top flight actually stretches back until the start of February.
Simeone's team have beaten Celta Vigo and Real Betis 2-0 in their last two league matches, while they will also enter this match off the back of an important Champions League victory.
The capital giants lost their European opener at Bayern Munich on October 21 but managed to get off the mark on Tuesday night courtesy of a 3-2 home success over Red Bull Salzburg, with Joao Felix scoring twice in the second period to secure an important win for his team.
The matches are coming thick and fast at the moment as Atletico are again in Champions League action away to Lokomotiv Moscow on November 3 before facing Cadiz ahead of the international break.
Los Rojiblancos ran out 5-0 winners when they travelled to Osasuna in the latter stages of last season, while they have been victorious in eight of the last nine league meetings between the two sides.
Osasuna La Liga form: WLLWDW
Atletico Madrid La Liga form: WDDWW
Atletico Madrid form (all competitions): DDWLWW
Team News
© Reuters
Osasuna will again be without a number of first-team players this weekend, with Jonathan Calleri, Lucas Torro, Chimy Avila and Darko Brasanac all definitely out of the contest.
Aridane Hernandez and Ante Budimir are also doubts, meaning that Arrasate does not have many options for change this weekend and could stick with the majority of the side that started against Athletic.
Ruben Garcia is again expected to join Enric Gallego in the final third of the field, while Unai Garcia is likely to be handed a start if Aridane is unable to prove his fitness.
As for Atletico, Diego Costa and Sime Vrsaljko remain on the sidelines through injury, while key midfielder Saul Niguez is still a fitness doubt for the capital giants.
Simeone is expected to make changes from the side that started against Salzburg in the Champions League, with Lucas Torreira and Jose Gimenez likely to return to the starting XI.
Thomas Lemar is also an option in an attacking position, although both Luis Suarez and Felix are again expected to be in the capital team's starting side this weekend.
Osasuna possible starting lineup:
Herrera; Roncaglia, U Garcia, D Garcia, Cruz; Vidal, Oier, Perez, Jony; Gallego, R Garcia
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Trippier, Savic, Gimenez, Lodi; Correa, Llorente, Torreira, Koke; Felix, Suarez
We say: Osasuna 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Osasuna will enter the match full of confidence after an impressive October, but Atletico's long unbeaten run in the league must be respected, and we just fancy Simeone's side to shade a tight match this weekend.
