Barca look to bounce back

MADRID – Top of the league Barcelona face struggling Osasuna at home on Sunday bidding to bounce back from a first league defeat of the season, 3-2 at Real Sociedad, last Saturday.

Friday, January 25, 2013

SaturdayCelta Vigo     vs     R. Sociedad     17:00 Levante     vs     Valladolid     19:00 Zaragoza     vs     Espanyol     21:00 Deportivo     vs     Valencia     23:00 SundayReal Madrid     vs     Getafe     13:00 Rayo     vs     Betis         18:00 Barcelona     vs     Osasuna     20:00 Mallorca     vs     Malaga     22:00  Athletic     vs     Atletico         MondaySevilla     vs     Granada     22:30 MADRID – Top of the league Barcelona face struggling Osasuna at home on Sunday bidding to bounce back from a first league defeat of the season, 3-2 at Real Sociedad, last Saturday.Barca’s record breaking first-half of the season, which saw them drop only two points, means Tito Vilanova’s side sit eight points ahead of Atletico Madrid in second with Real Madrid a further seven points back in third.However, last weekend’s set-back saw the Catalans lose a two-goal lead in San Sebastian and it should serve as a wake up call with 18 league games still to play.Despite that defeat, Barcelona showed in midweek that there was no long-term damage when they beat Malaga 4-2 in the Spanish Cup quarterfinals to set-up a semifinal clash with Real Madrid.Both Madrid sides won their games last Sunday to cut the deficit at the top, but have lost key players, Iker Casillas for Real and Radamel Falcao for Atletico, in the past week.Barca will themselves be without new father Gerard Pique on Sunday after his red card against Sociedad.Osasuna forward Nino believes his side will be full of confidence after a 2-1 win over Deportivo last Sunday that saw the Pamplona-based side move off the bottom of the table."Wins give you the confidence for the day-to-day and then the game on Sunday. We work hard to win and you feel better when you achieve that. We all know the situation is difficult but we will try not to give anything away at Barcelona,” he said.