High-flying Girona will host Almeria on the lookout for their eighth win of the La Liga campaign. With 22 points from their first nine league games, the hosts are second in the standings. Almeria sits at the bottom of the division with just three points from their nine games.
Preview (Girona vs. Almeria)
Girona has accumulated 22 points from nine games this season, winning seven, drawing one, and losing one, making them the clear surprise package in Spain’s premier division. The only team to defeat Michel’s team in the first two months of the 2023–24 campaign was Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid, who sit atop the standings just two points ahead of Michel’s group. Girona is just in its fourth season in the top tier of Spain. In their first three, they placed 10th, 18th, and 10th.
Aleix Garcia scored the game’s lone goal in the 59th minute to help the White and Reds defeat Cadiz 1-0 just before the international break, demonstrating their remarkable comeback from their 3-0 setback to Real Madrid at the end of September. Girona has scored a lot of goals this season, which has contributed significantly to their success. However, they have given up 11 goals. It is more than any other team in the top five and equal with Valencia in ninth place. Almeria, on the other hand, has struggled in the 2023–24 campaign, losing six and drawing three. It has landed them with three points at the bottom of the table.
It is not shocking to see La Union near the bottom considering they finished 17th in Spain’s top flight. The previous season and just avoided relegation back to the Segunda Division on the final matchday. Prior to the international break, UDA fell 3-0 against Athletic Bilbao. This season, they have lost three of their four away league games.
Team News
At present, Borja Garcia, Jon Solis, Juan Carlos, Bernardo Espinosa, Joel Roca, Ricard Artero, and Toni Villa are all out for Girona due to injuries. When it comes to lineup changes, head coach Michel has a lot of options because both Cristian Stuani and Pablo Torre, the midfielder for Barcelona on loan, are vying to start on Sunday. However it looks like Artem Dovbyk has taken over as the starting center forward. The 26-year-old is once again anticipated to have a backup from Savio and Ivan Martin. Dovbyk has scored three goals in the league this season. Regarding Almeria, injuries have kept Abraham Kone, Edgar Gonzalez, Luis Suarez, Marc Pubill, and Martin Svidersky out of contention for selection, and Sergio Akieme and Lucas Robertone are serious doubts.
It will be challenging for new head coach Garitano to have an impact on the team given the squad’s numerous fitness issues. However, it is still anticipated that some changes would be made from the starting lineup that faced Athletic the previous time out, with Leo Baptistao and Alex Pozo perhaps making an appearance. Although unexpected results have been known to happen in La Liga, we just cannot see it occurring in this match. Girona has shown that they are a formidable team this season, and in this encounter, the Catalan team ought to be too strong for a failing Almeria.
Girona 2 – 0 Almeria
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