Villarreal's fight to secure a top-five position in the La Liga table and Champions League qualification for the 2025-26 campaign will continue on Saturday evening when they make the trip to Girona.
The Yellow Submarine are fifth in the division, one point clear of sixth-placed Real Betis, while Girona occupy 15th, six points clear of the relegation zone with four games left.
Match preview
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Girona will enter this weekend's clash off the back of a huge victory over Mallorca, with Cristhian Stuani netting the only goal of the match in the 10th minute to hand the Catalan giants a gigantic three points in their battle to avoid the drop.
Michel's side are now six points clear of 18th-placed Las Palmas, so the pressure has been taken off them, but there is still work for the Catalan team to do in order to ensure that they are in La Liga next season.
Girona finished third in Spain's top flight last term, securing a Champions League spot in the process, but it has proven to be a challenging campaign for the club, who are down in 16th spot.
The White and Reds have picked up 24 points from their 17 home league matches this season, but they will be welcoming a Villarreal outfit with 30 points to show from their 17 away games, which is the third-best record in the division.
The reverse match between the two teams earlier this season ended in a 2-2 draw, while Villarreal were 1-0 winners when the pair locked horns at Montilivi Stadium during the 2023-24 campaign.
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Villarreal will enter this game off the back of a 4-2 success over Osasuna, with Ayoze Perez netting twice, and an outstanding campaign for the Spaniard has seen him score 16 times in 27 La Liga matches.
The Yellow Submarine are currently fifth in the table, one point ahead of sixth-placed Real Betis and three behind fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao, and it is set to be a fascinating race for the Champions League spots.
Villarreal will be securing a minimum of Europa League football for next term, but missing out on the Champions League at this stage would be a huge disappointment, demonstrating the importance of picking up all three points this weekend.
Marcelino's side will tackle Leganes, Barcelona and Sevilla in their final three league games of the season, and maximum points from all of those fixtures could potentially be required to secure a top-five spot.
Villarreal last played in the Champions League in 2021-22, reaching the semi-finals of the competition, but their last two European campaigns have been in the Conference League and Europa League.
Team News
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Girona could again be missing all of Gabriel Misehouy, Donny van de Beek, Miguel Gutierrez, Ricard Artero and Bryan Gil for their La Liga fixture with Villarreal on Saturday.
As a result, head coach Michel may decide to name the same side that started against Mallorca last time out, with Arthur potentially being preferred to Oriol Romeu in the middle of midfield.
Stuani has scored nine times in La Liga this season, and the 38-year-old should continue in the final third of the field.
As for Villarreal, Yeremy Pino will be back in the squad after serving a suspension, but Kiko Femenia, Raul Albiol and Ilias Akhomach will miss the contest due to injury problems.
Pau Navarro is expected to take the place of Femenia at right-back, while Alex Baena is in line to return down the left, with Pape Gueye likely to drop down to the bench this weekend.
Nicolas Pepe was on the scoresheet against Osasuna, while Thierno Barry also registered, so Pino may have to accept a spot on the bench on his return to the squad against Girona.
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; A Martinez, D Lopez, Krejci, Blind; Martin, Arthur, Herrera; Tsygankov, Stuani, Portu
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Luiz Junior; Navarro, Foyth, Costa, S Cardona; Pepe, Comesana, Parejo, Baena; Perez, Barry
We say: Girona 1-2 Villarreal
Villarreal need wins at this stage of the campaign to keep them in the top five, and we are backing the Yellow Submarine to edge a close match on Saturday, with Girona already suffering seven home league defeats during the 2024-25 campaign.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
