((FREE>>STREAMS!)) Osasuna vs. Barcelona live watch TV Broadcast Online 11 January 2024
Barcelona vs. Osasuna FREE LIVE STREAM (1/11/2024): Watch Spanish Super Cup semi-final online | Time, USA TV, channel. FC Barcelona and Osasuna will lock horns in an intriguing Supercopa de Espana clash in the Middle East as both teams look to book a place in the final of the competition.
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Xavi's Barcelona defeated Barbastro 3-2 in the Copa del Rey Round of 32 in their previous game as Fermin Lopez, Raphinha, and Robert Lewandowski were all on the scoresheet for the Catalan heavyweights. The defending champions will look to win the semi-final and earn a ticket to the final.
Meanwhile, Osasuna have struggled in the La Liga this season as they are hovering around the equator of the Spanish league. They defeated Castellon in the Round of 32 of the Copa del Rey as Jose Arnaiz scored the winner in the 108th minute of the fixture.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: Spanish Super Cup semi-final
Who: Barcelona vs Osasuna
When: Thursday, 11 January, 2024
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Where: Al Awal Park at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
TV: ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+
The Blaugrana could switch back to their strongest eleven during their trip to the Middle East. Marc Andre Ter Stegen and Marcos Alonso remain confined to the treatment room due to their injury issues. The trio of Pedri, Joao Cancelo, and Inigo Martinez have reportedly travelled for their clash against Osasuna but could miss the fixture.
Martinez suffered another injury just a few minutes after returning from his previous injury while Pedri and Cancelo are on the road to recovery despite being included in the squad.
Spanish prodigy Gavi remains sidelined due to his ACL injury while former Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan will return to Barca's engine room after recovering from his illness.
Osasuna would miss the services of forward Chimy Avila who picked up an injury during Osasuna's victory against Almeria.
The Gorritxoak Los Rojillos will have the duo of Unai Garcia and Johan Mojica back amongst the substitutes with the Osasuna pair healing from their respective knocks.
The last time Osasuna faced Barcelona ended in a 2-1 Barca victory in LaLiga back on Sept. 3. Osasuna carries a 6-4-9 season record and sits in 12th in the league standings. Veteran forward Ante Budimir leads the club in scoring with nine goals.
Xavi Hernandez's team battled past fourth-tier side Barbastro in the Copa del Rey Round of 32 ahead of this game with Osasuna needing an extra-time win over Castellon. Barcelona will be confident of reaching the final again where they will face either El Clasico rivals Real Madrid or Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid.
Xavi has confirmed key duo Joao Cancelo and Pedri will not be fit in time to travel to Saudi Arabia. Inigo Martinez and Marcos Alonso are not expected to return until February. Osasuna head coach Jagoba Arrasate will shuffle his options for this game with Jon Moncayola and Ante Budimir set to start.
Barcelona face a battle to force their way back into the La Liga title race in the coming weeks with Real Madrid and Girona leading the way at the start of 2024.
Despite the extra fixtures being added to the calendar, this tournament offers a break from the pressure of La Liga, and Barcelona are firm favourites against an Osasuna side with two wins in their last 10 games.
Barcelona is aiming to defend their Super Cup title after securing victory against Madrid in the previous year's final, marking their first triumph since the expansion of the event to four teams. On the other hand, Osasuna is set to make their inaugural appearance in any form of the Super Cup.
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez hopes winning the Spanish Super Cup will be the turning point that revives their LaLiga title challenge. Barcelona are third in the table, seven points behind leaders Real Madrid, and need a lift after a sobering home LaLiga loss to Girona last month. Osasuna, who qualified for the Super Cup as 2022-23 Copa del Rey finalists, are 12th in the league and have not beaten Barcelona since 2020.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Marcos Alonso are out while Gavi is a long-term absentee and Inigo Martinez is also unlikely to play after coming off vs. Barbastro. Joao Cancelo and Pedri are in Saudi Arabia but doubtful to feature while Ilkay Gundogan should be fit enough to start after illness.
Chimy Avila has stayed home injured while Unai Garcia should be fit to feature alongside Johan Mojica. Jagoba Arrasate could call on Sergio Herrera, Jesus Areso, Alejandro Catena and Ruben Pena while Jon Moncayola and Aimar Oroz are expected to form the midfield behind an attack of Moi Gomez, Ante Budimir and Jose Manuel Arnaiz.
For the fifth consecutive season, the Supercopa de España will be contested in a four-team format with Saudi Arabia hosting the competition for a fourth time, as for Barcelona they have played in every single edition with the Catalan giants reaching two previous finals winning one. That success came last season when they ran out 3-1 winners against eternal rivals Real Madrid subsequently bringing their overall success to a record-extending 14 titles.
However, the team chief continues to struggle when it comes to imbuing his own players with the same winning habits and getting his own tactics right to mimic that success as a manager.
While Copa del Rey runner-up Osasuna resides 12th in the table and is struggling to repeat last season’s success, it’s a similar tale for a Barca team sat third and already seven points off the summit.
The same goes for the recent history between Barca and Osasuna, with the former winning each of the last three encounters between these teams by a single-goal margin.
That being said, a seven-match unbeaten streak in this fixture is nothing to be sniffed at, and Barcelona will most likely advance to this weekend’s final provided it can repeat that form in Riyadh.
Barcelona edged out Barbastro 3-2 in the Copa del Rey thanks to Robert Lewandowski's late penalty last weekend. It was great for the Poland forward to score the winner as his form has been mixed this season. Although, he still has a good record of eight goals in 17 LaLiga matches.
Fermin Lopez and Raphinha got the other goals for Xavi's side. They are currently third in LaLiga and seven points off Real Madrid who are top of the division. Barca have been unlucky with injuries this campaign and they are still without Gavi, Marcos Alonso, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Joao Cancelo.
Barca's opposition in the semi-finals of the Spanish Supercoppa is Osasuna. They qualified as they were the runners-up in the Copa del Rey last season. They lost to Real Madrid in the final but they are still in this year's competition after defeating Castellon 1-0.
Jose Arnaiz scored the winning goal and the winger now has two goals and one assist in 15 games in all competitions this season. Osasuna are 12th in LaLiga and just seven points above the relegation zone. Last season they finished seventh so they have had a disappointing first half to this campaign.
An emphatic victory for the Catalans over Real Madrid in this competition last season set the tone for their eventual La Liga title triumph, although their title defence has so far been a pretty shoddy one. Xavi's side depart for Saudi Arabia seven points adrift of the current joint leaders.