La Liga: Girona vs Barcelona preview & prediction

Barcelona will return to La Liga action this weekend as they take on Girona at Estadi Montilivi on Saturday evening.

At a time when Barca are sitting second in the table, their city rivals are two points behind them in third.

Match Preview

Girona have had an excellent 2023-24 campaign under Michel as they are on course to secure Champions League football for next season.

They couldn’t keep pace with Real Madrid for the La Liga title but even a top-four finish would represent a huge achievement for a club of their stature.

The White and Reds are currently on a two-game winning streak. After thrashing Cadiz 4-1, they also ran out 2-0 winners over Las Palmas at the weekend, with goals in either half from David López and Artem Dovbyk.

Girona have been outstanding on home soil this campaign, collecting an incredible 41 points from 16 games in front of their own supporters.

However, their next rivals Barcelona have also lost just once on the road this season.

The Catalans have endured an underwhelming campaign under Xavi Hernandez as they are set to be without any trophy this term.

They are mathematically still in the title race but no one will seriously believe that winning the championship is possible at this stage.

Losing the recent El Clasico in April at the Santiago Bernabeu was a big blow to their title aspirations.

Jude Bellingham stole all the headlines in that game as he struck a dramatic stoppage-time winner to seal a 3-2 success for Real.

Barcelona have since beaten Valencia 4-2 in their most recent home match but find themselves 11 points behind Los Blancos in the league table.

Team News

Girona boss Michel will not be able to avail the services of Juanpe, Ricard Artero and Joel Roca due to fitness issues. Meanwhile, there are also concerns over the availability of Borja Garcia and Cristhian Stuani.

As for Barcelona, Gavi and Alejandro Balde are long-term absentees, while Frenkie de Jong is also not expected to play again this term after picking up a serious injury against Real Madrid last month.