Girona vs Barcelona

Estadio Municipal de Montilivi sets the stage for a handsomely-looking La Liga top-four six-pointer between Girona and Barcelona. 

Girona’s fairytale La Liga campaign continued with a 2-0 win at Las Palmas last weekend, taking their seasonal tally to 71 points as they become the only side outside the Spanish traditional top three to garner as much after 33 rounds. Victories in three of their last four league matches will increase the confidence around the home camp (L1), though they’ve ominously conceded 2+ goals in all five top-flight encounters against the other top-three clubs this term (W2, L3). But with a maiden Champions League appearance almost secured, Michel’s men ought to be buoyant against a Barcelona side they hammered 4-2 in the reverse fixture. Further inspiration stems from Girona’s stunning 12-game unbeaten home league streak (W10, D2), with six of their last eight such matches seeing them score at least two goals.

On the other hand, Barcelona recovered from a season-defining El Clasico heartache against Real Madrid (2-3) with a goal-glutted 4-2 home win against Valencia earlier this week. However, their La Liga title defense is dead in the water as they commence this matchday 11 points adrift of table-topping Madrid. But revenge for a disastrous H2H result in December could be a powerful motive, and they can take confidence from losing just one league outing on the road this season (W9, D6). Despite boasting their best traveling record since 2018/19, the Catalans can’t get complacent, knowing they’ve lost three of their five clashes against top-five teams this season (W2, L3). If it’s any consolation, the abovementioned loss in the reverse fixture remains Barcelona’s only slip-up against Girona (W4, D2).