Girona will be bidding to make it successive victories in Spain's top flight when they head to Alaves on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors beat Real Valladolid 3-0 before the winter break to move into eighth position in the La Liga table, while Alaves, who sit 16th, shared the points with Valencia in their last fixture on December 22.
Match preview
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Alaves have shared the points in each of their last four La Liga games, drawing with Leganes, Osasuna, Athletic Bilbao and Valencia, with their last defeat coming to title challengers Atletico Madrid on November 23.
The Blue and Whites have not been victorious in La Liga since a 1-0 success over Mallorca at the start of November, which is their only success in the league in their last 12 matches, and they have dropped down into 16th position in Spain's top flight, boasting 17 points from 18 matches courtesy of a record of four wins, five draws and nine defeats.
Eduardo Coudet's side are only two points above the relegation zone, and their recent struggles when it comes to winning matches will be a big concern at this stage of the campaign.
Alaves finished 10th in La Liga last season, enjoying an excellent campaign on their return to the top flight, but it has proven to be more difficult in 2024-25, with the team potentially being involved in a relegation battle.
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These two teams played out a 2-2 draw in the corresponding match last term, but Girona were 3-0 winners in their home fixture, and the Catalan outfit will be bidding to make it successive La Liga victories on Saturday afternoon.
Michel's side recorded a 3-0 victory over Real Valladolid on December 20, with that result bringing to an end a four-game losing run in all competitions, while it proved to be their first La Liga success since November 23.
Girona enjoyed a historic 2023-24 campaign, finishing third in La Liga to secure Champions League football for this season, but they have only managed to win one of their six games thus far in the league phase of the competition.
The Catalan side are also out of the Copa del Rey, so their next two matches are both in the league, facing Alaves and Sevilla, before heading to Italy for a huge Champions League fixture against AC Milan.
The White and Reds currently sit in eighth position in Spain's top flight, picking up 25 points from 18 matches, which has left them level on points with seventh-placed Real Sociedad, while they sit five points behind fifth-placed Villarreal.
Team News
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Alaves are likely to be without the services of Antonio Sivera and Jon Guridi due to injury problems, but Nahuel Tenaglia is available again after serving a suspension in the clash with Valencia last time out.
Tenaglia is set to return at right-back, which would see Carlos Vicente move further forward in place of Guridi, who is not expected to be cleared in time to take to the field this weekend.
Kike Garcia has found the back of the net on five occasions in 17 La Liga appearances during the 2024-25 campaign, and the 35-year-old is once again expected to lead the Alaves line this weekend.
As for Girona, Bojan Miovski and Viktor Tsygankov are both unavailable through injury, but Oriol Romeu is available again after sitting out the clash with Real Valladolid due to a suspension.
Head coach Michel is expected to select the majority of the side that took to the field for the first whistle last time out, including Abel Ruiz, with the Spaniard likely to continue through the middle.
Ivan Martin and Donny van de Beek should continue in midfield despite the return to the squad for Romeu, but there could be a change down the right, with Arnaut Danjuma potentially coming in for Yaser Asprilla.
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Sivera; Tenaglia, Pica, Abqar, Diarra, Sanchez; Vicente, Jordan, Blanco, Martin; Kike Garcia
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; D Lopez, Krejci, Blind; A Martinez, Van de Beek, Martin, Gutierrez; Danjuma, Ruiz, Gil
We say: Alaves 1-1 Girona
Alaves have been the draw specialists of late, and we are expecting another stalemate here; Girona were excellent last time out, but the Catalan side have only won two of their nine away league matches during the 2024-25 campaign, and we are expecting a tight match on Saturday afternoon to end in a low-scoring draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
