Girona will be aiming to make it three straight wins in La Liga when they welcome Sevilla to Estadi Montilivi on Saturday afternoon.
The White and Reds are currently eighth in the La Liga table, picking up 28 points from their opening 19 matches of the campaign, while Sevilla occupy 13th, having collected 23 points from their first 19 games of 2024-25.
Match preview
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Girona boast a record of eight wins, four draws and seven defeats from their 19 league matches this season, with a total of 28 points leaving them in eighth spot in the division, just two points behind fifth-placed Villarreal.
The Catalan outfit had an extraordinary 2023-24 season, finishing third, which saw them qualify for the league phase of the Champions League, and they picked up their first-ever win in the competition against Slovan Bratislava on October 22.
Unsurprisingly, it has been difficult for the White and Reds to match their form from last term, which made them title contenders at a stage, but a top-six finish is within reach, and that would also represent an excellent campaign.
Michel's side ended 2024 with a 3-0 success over Real Valladolid, before beating Alaves 1-0 in their opening match of 2025, with Jhon Solis netting a last-gasp winner for the Catalan team, who will be aiming to continue their strong run against Sevilla this weekend.
Indeed, Girona have been victorious in each of their last five La Liga matches against Sevilla, last failing to win this fixture since December 2018, which is an indication of the size of the away side's task in this contest.
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Sevilla finished 14th in Spain's top flight last season, which represented their worst La Liga campaign since being relegated in 1999-2000, so there is plenty of room for improvement this term.
Los Nervionenses are currently 13th in the La Liga table, boasting a record of 23 points from 19 matches courtesy of a record of six wins, five draws and eight defeats.
Garcia Pimienta's side will enter this clash off the back of a 1-1 draw with Valencia; it did appear that Luis Rioja's 61st-minute goal would be securing all three points for the visitors to Estadio Ramon, only for Adria Pedrosa to come up with a last-gasp leveller.
Sevilla are now back on their travels, where they have won just once in La Liga this season, but Girona have been victorious in five of their nine league games in front of their own supporters during the 2024-25 campaign.
The Sevillians are some way off returning to the Champions League, but they are only two points behind ninth-placed Rayo Vallecano and will have their sights set on a top-half finish in La Liga this term.
Team News
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Girona will again be without the services of Bojan Miovski due to a hamstring problem, while Miguel Gutierrez, Portu and Yaser Asprilla could also miss out for the hosts.
Arnaut Danjuma for Gutierrez may be the only change from the side that started against Alaves, although Oriol Romeu is another strong option to be introduced in the middle of midfield.
Girona's injury problems have eased of late, with Viktor Tsyhankov back to fitness, but the attacker is again expected to be among the substitutes for the first whistle on Saturday afternoon.
As for Sevilla, Tanguy Nianzou, Chidera Ejuke, Joan Jordan, Rafa Mir and Kelechi Iheanacho could all be unavailable for selection.
Head coach Garcia Pimienta is expected to keep faith with the majority of the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Valencia, but there could be a change at left-back, with Pedrosa likely to come in for Kike Salas.
There should also be a spot in the side for Juanlu Sanchez, with the versatile operator potentially featuring at right-back.
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; A Martinez, D Lopez, Krejci, Blind; Gil, Martin, Van de Beek, Herrera, Danjuma; Ruiz
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Juanlu, Bade, Gudelj, Pedrosa; Agoume, Lokonga; Lukebakio, Sow, Saul; Romero
We say: Girona 2-1 Sevilla
Sevilla certainly have the players to make this a tricky encounter for Girona, and we are expecting it to be close in terms of the scoreline on Saturday afternoon. However, the Catalan outfit have enough quality to navigate their way to their ninth league success of the campaign.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
