Osasuna vs Atletico Madrid: TV channel, live stream, team news & prediction

Firmly mid-table Osasuna host the tumbling Spanish champions Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Saturday afternoon.

Jagoba Arrasate's Pamplona-based side are safely ensconced in ninth place going into the weekend's fixtures, closer in points to Atletico Madrid than the relegation zone.

With the arrival of Manchester United in the Champions League last 16 rapidly approaching, and a defeat to bottom club Levante lingering from midweek, Diego Simeone has plenty of spinning plates to balance going into a tough test on Saturday.

Here's all you need to know about the weekend's upcoming meeting.

How to watch Osasuna vs Atletico on TV/live stream

When is kick off? Saturday 19 February, 15:15 (GMT)
Where is the match being played? Estadio El Sadar
TV channel/live stream? LaLigaTV (UK), ESPN+ (US), TSN (Canada)
Highlights? La Liga YouTube channel
Referee? TBC
VAR? TBC

Osasuna team news

Osasuna have a middling defensive record yet have still shipped fewer goals than Atletico this term. Their attempts to record an 11th clean sheet of the campaign won't be detrimentally damaged by the expected absence of the lesser-used defensive duo Aridane Hernandez (muscle) and Jesus Areso (wrist).

Winger Ruben Garcia is also a doubt with a muscle injury that could sideline him for the next few weeks.

Atletico team news

Yannick Carrasco has missed the club's last two matches after testing positive for COVID-19 shortly before Saturday's bonkers 4-3 victory over Getafe. Mario Hermoso has also recorded a positive test since netting the winner in that helter-skelter affair.

Daniel Wass' return from a sprained knee isn't scheduled until the second half of March.

However, Antoine Griezmann could make a long-awaited return from a hamstring issue against Osasuna according to reports from Mundo Deportivo.

Osasuna vs Atletico head-to-head record

Osasuna have won just one of their last 16 La Liga matches against Atletico, losing 14, including their last seven meetings. However, the sole victory in that bleak run was one of the most surprising results in Simeone's tenure at the helm.

Slap bang in the middle of Atletico's title-winning 2013/14 season, the capital side travelled to El Sadar only to leave with their tail between their legs and a 3-0 defeat to mull over.

Just four days prior Atleti had beaten Milan in San Siro. It was the heaviest loss of their entire victorious league campaign and against a side that would tumble out of the division that term.

Osasuna vs Atletico score prediction

Back in the present day, Osasuna have kept four clean sheets in their last five league outings, collecting ten points in that time span. A defensive record Simeone's side can only view with boiling envy given their run of 16 goals shipped in the past seven outings.

However, while Atletico make for more volatile viewing than they once did under El Cholo, the reigning Spanish champions may add further weight to the steadily debunked argument that El Sadar is a tough place to go, given Osasuna have the third-worst home record in the division.

Prediction: Osasuna 1-2 Atletico