Sevilla FC finally came home after more than a month away from their own ground, and the return brought Osasuna to the Sánchez-Pizjuán with Rubén Vargas expected to start on the right wing. The match arrived with García Plaza able to count on Kochorashvili and Guridi again, while Stassin also made the squad after a week on a special training plan.
That mattered because Sevilla had spent 36 days away from the Sánchez-Pizjuán since the Barcelona match, a stretch that left the side chasing rhythm as much as points. García Plaza said everyone had to contribute, and the selection reflected that idea: Vlachodimos, Iglesias, Castrín, Kike Salas, Suazo, Agoumé, Kochorashvili, Fofana, Vargas, Correia and Ure were the chosen names, with Vargas carrying the expectation of bringing a sharper edge down the right.
Osasuna arrived with a more complicated record than the recent 2-0 win over Racing de Santander at the Sadar suggested. Before that result, they had taken only one point from the previous 15 available and had won only one away match, which left the visit to Sevilla looking less like a reset than a test of whether the last performance could travel. Ante Budimir was still the danger point, having scored seven goals in nine matches and finding the net in each of the previous three league matchdays.
There was also a clear gap in the visitors’ plans. Jorge Herrando, Aimar Oroz and Romain del Castillo were unavailable through injury, leaving Osasuna with only two absences but fewer options in key areas. Their lineup — Aitor, Rosier, Catena, Boyomo, Bretones, Iker Muñoz, Moncayola, Moi Gómez, Rubén García, Dubasín and Budimir — kept the focus on a side that could still strike, but could not hide the strain of its recent run.
Sevilla’s own challenge was just as awkward. The team had handled each match in the previous month with the sort of intensity García Plaza liked, but the results had not matched the effort, and the forwards had still not scored at home. Osasuna, meanwhile, had returned Jagoba Arrasate to the bench and remained one of the more vulnerable defenses in the division with 18 goals against. The next stretch does not get easier either, with a Copa del Rey tie and another trip to Getafe waiting next week, so this homecoming was less a ceremony than an early marker of where Sevilla’s season goes from here.
