Osasuna can win at home and pick up back-to-back victories for the first time in La Liga this season when they host Leganes on Sunday.
A 1-0 win at northern rivals Alaves moved Osasuna within 13 points of safety in the League and as many behind Leganes, prompting Coach Petar Vasiljevic to look at the visit of their fellow promoted team with optimism.
“The lads are eager to win for the fans,” the Serbian said at a Press conference.
“We’ve done it away, but we haven’t done it yet on our patch, where we’ve historically been strong. Hopefully we can respond to this match, against a difficult team.
“It’s a short week and we’ve had little time to enjoy it. We’ve finally won a game, but we haven’t followed it up yet.
“The lads were finding it difficult and had lacked a victory to reinforce their work and daily sacrifice.”
Eight players are missing for the Pamplonans against Leganes, whose unbeaten run of four games ended in a 4-2 defeat to nearby Real Madrid midweek, and trainer Asier Garitano made it clear his side’s task would not get any easier at El Sadar.
“They are Navarrese and have a lot of pride. It didn’t surprise me that they beat Alaves the other day. They’re a good team,” he explained.
“We’d take a very important step forward if we win, it’s an important matchday, but the key is to think about ourselves.
“Now, we have at least two matchdays in which we’re relying on ourselves. We don’t have to look at other results.”
Osasuna (probable): Sirigu; Oier, David Garcia, Vujadinovic; Berenguer, De las Cuevas, Causic, Tienza, Clerc; Sergio Leon, Kodro
Injuries/suspensions: Digard, Imanol, Jaime, Javi Flano, Miguel Flano, Loe, Tano, Unai Garcia (all injured)
Leganes (probable): Herrerin; Tito, Siovas, Mantovani, Diego Rico; Ruben, Moran; El Zhar, Gabriel, Szymanowski; Guerrero
Injuries/suspensions: Robert, Serantes (I)
Referee: Ocon Arraiz
Form guide: Osasuna (W L L D L) Leganes (L D D D W)
Previous meeting: Leganes 1-0 Osasuna
Kick-off time: 17:30 BST/18:30 CET
