Deportivo La Coruna return to Riazor on Monday evening (20:00 GMT) with attention firmly on their recovery list: Antonio Hidalgo has revealed that several injured players are progressing through supervised team work but none have been officially cleared for selection. Across the bench, the Copa del Rey victory at Auriense has supplied fresh minutes and a confidence boost that Hidalgo said the squad will carry into this fixture. Opponents Osasuna arrive under the renewed stewardship of Jagoba Arrasate, who has named a 23‑man travelling party but left three players out as he reshapes the squad. The contrast between Deportivo’s cautious reintegration of key names and Osasuna’s clearer, if unsettled, availability is the defining storyline heading into this La Liga clash.

Deportivo La Coruna

Hidalgo’s press conference on 1 November focused attention on the club’s injured group: Marc Casadó and Zakaria Eddahchouri are reported to be doing alternating, supervised work with the group and Pierre‑Emerick Aubameyang has been described as taking steps forward in training, but the club has not issued match‑day clearance for any of them. Those concrete updates restrict Hidalgo’s immediate selection choices while offering a short list of players who have actually built match fitness in recent days; the 0–3 cup win at Auriense featured rotated personnel who now press for league minutes at Riazor. The manager’s description of progress rather than availability is central — these players represent potential impact options in the next week rather than guaranteed starters tonight.

Hidalgo also singled out set‑pieces and finishing as areas of concern in his public comments, which gives a clear indicator of what to watch in team selection and match preparation. If he persists with the players who delivered in the Copa, Deportivo can field personnel already schooled in the manager’s recent training emphasis, but the lack of an in‑game talisman like Aubameyang limits the club’s most direct route to goals. That constraint makes Hidalgo’s choices around delivery from wide areas and who is tasked with attacking dead balls more consequential than usual; the technical staff’s recent focus on those moments could determine whether Deportivo turn cup momentum into a league result.

Facing a side who have shown both goals and defensive hiccups, Deportivo must manage the immediate tactical realities without overcommitting to a speculative reintroduction of injured stars. Osasuna arrive with a travelling squad that contains recognised attacking names, so Deportivo’s players who gained match minutes on 29 October will be asked to sustain intensity and avoid gifting set‑piece chances that Hidalgo openly identified as a weakness. Riazor, where the home side can control minor tactical adjustments and selection continuity, becomes the platform on which those recovery narratives are converted into points.

Osasuna

Jagoba Arrasate’s reappointment in mid‑October is the clearest recent development for Osasuna and it frames everything from selection to short‑term objectives. The club published a 23‑player travelling list that explicitly rules out Del Castillo, Aimar and Herrando; forwards such as Budimir, Raúl and Kike Barja are included, giving Arrasate options up front despite the absences. That travelling list is a practical snapshot of availability and suggests Arrasate will work with a slightly reduced defensive stock while retaining attacking bodies — a balance that underpins his immediate personnel decisions for Riazor.

Osasuna’s recent sequence — a league defeat away at Sevilla followed by a heavy cup win — points to a side still finding consistency under the returning coach. The dominant Copa showing provides match sharpness and morale, particularly for fringe players, but the league loss underlines the defensive fragility that Arrasate inherits. His short-term task is therefore dual: to maintain the offensive momentum his squad demonstrated in the cup while tightening the defensive choices that produced the recent reverse; the travelling list shows he has enough attacking options to remain a threat even if defensive absentees force minor reshuffles.

Confronting Deportivo at Riazor presents a specific challenge for Osasuna’s reconstituted matchday group. Hidalgo’s public concerns about dead balls and finishing mean Osasuna cannot rely on a straightforward defensive approach alone; they must also be prepared for a home side that will try to extract advantage from recent training emphasis and fresh cup minutes. Arrasate’s players who featured heavily in the Copa could supply the tempo and incisiveness required to exploit any lingering uncertainty in Deportivo’s backline, but doing so depends on Arrasate’s lineup choices and his ability to cobble a compact shape from the available personnel.

Verdict

Our prediction is a narrow home win for Deportivo La Coruna. The club’s cup victory has supplied match fitness and confidence to players who are available for selection, and Hidalgo’s public management of recovery timelines makes it unlikely that a returning star is risked at Riazor; that continuity of selection is a modest advantage. Osasuna arrive with a refreshed squad and attacking options, yet the three excluded players and a recent league defeat indicate Arrasate’s side remain in transition; on balance, a slightly sharper, fresher Deportivo at home are favoured to edge this one.

Tip

Tip: Back Deportivo La Coruna to win and both teams to score. Deportivo’s recent cup rotation has handed league‑ready minutes to players likely to start at Riazor, while Osasuna’s travelling party contains recognised forwards capable of breaching the home defence; the combination of home momentum and Osasuna’s attacking options makes a home victory with goals at both ends the most likely market outcome.