Athletic without Guruzeta and Maroan for Osasuna trip to El Sadar

Guruzeta and Maroan are out, according to Mundo Deportivo, leaving Athletic short of forwards for the trip to Osasuna on Saturday 7 November at 18:30.

Athletic Club travel to Osasuna with two forwards missing: Guruzeta and Maroan. Mundo Deportivo reports it on the front page of its Bizkaia-Araba edition of 4 November, which refers to problems in the Athletic attack. The match is on Saturday 7 November at 18:30 at the Estadio El Sadar.

Athletic's form is uneven but acceptable. They are seventh in La Liga with 15 points from 10 matches: 4 wins, 3 draws and 3 defeats. They have scored 14 goals and conceded 10. Their last result was a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad on 1 November.

Osasuna are lower in the league table: 15th with 11 points from 11 matches, with 3 wins, 2 draws and 6 defeats. Their last match ended in a 2-1 defeat to Deportivo de La Coruña on 2 November.

What changes at El Sadar

Losing two forwards at once hurts a team that is not overflowing with goals: 14 in 10 matches is not the return of a runaway attack. Athletic will have to find those finishes elsewhere, and the Mundo Deportivo front page points to exactly that shortage of options up front.

There is one offset. Osasuna have conceded 22 goals in 11 matches, the highest figure of the two squads, and have scored only 11. Their defence gives away chances, so Athletic may need only a few if they take them. What is left to be decided in Pamplona is who finishes them without two of their forwards.

Osasuna are four points behind Athletic and come into matchday 12 on the back of a defeat, with a chance to cut the gap against a side short of forwards. A win at El Sadar would confirm the lift Athletic got from the Real Sociedad victory.

Sources: Mundo Deportivo