Girona will be aiming to record their eighth La Liga victory of what has been a very impressive campaign to date when they welcome a struggling Almeria on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts are second in the table, boasting 22 points from their opening nine league games, while Almeria are rooted to the bottom of the division on just three points from nine matches.
Match preview
© Reuters
Girona have undoubtedly been the surprise package in Spain's top flight so far this season, with the Catalan outfit winning seven, drawing one and losing one of their nine games to collect 22 points.
Michel's side are second in the table, just two points behind leaders Real Madrid, with Carlo Ancelotti's side the only team to beat them in the opening two months of the 2023-24 campaign.
Girona are only in their fourth season in Spain's top flight, finishing 10th, 18th and 10th in their previous three, so they are very much on course to make history this term, but there is still an awful lot of football to be played.
The White and Reds impressively bounced back from their 3-0 loss to Real Madrid at the end of September by recording a 1-0 victory over Cadiz before the international break, with Aleix Garcia netting the only goal of the contest in the 59th minute.
Girona have shared the goals around this season, which has been a huge part of their success, but they have actually conceded 11 times, which is the most in the top five and the same as Valencia down in ninth.
© Reuters
Almeria, meanwhile, have found it difficult during the 2023-24 campaign, drawing three and losing six of their nine matches, which has left them bottom of the table on three points.
La Union finished 17th in Spain's top flight last season, only narrowly avoiding relegation back to the Segunda Division on the final matchday of the campaign, so it is not too surprising to see them at the bottom.
There is a new face in the dugout, with Gaizka Garitano arriving as the replacement for Vicente Moreno, who was sacked at the end of September due to the team's struggles.
Garitano has a wealth of experience at this level of football, but the 48-year-old will be under no illusions when it comes to the size of the task, with Almeria conceding goals at an alarming rate, already shipping 24 in nine matches, which is unsurprisingly the worst record in the division.
UDA suffered a 3-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao before the international break, while they have lost three of their four away league games this term, including a 5-1 defeat to Sevilla last month.
Team News
© Reuters
Girona have a number of injury problems at this moment in time, with Borja Garcia, Jhon Solis, Juan Carlos, Bernardo Espinosa, Joel Roca, Ricard Artero and Toni Villa all on the sidelines.
Head coach Michel has plenty of options when it comes to change, with on-loan Barcelona midfielder Pablo Torre and Cristhian Stuani both pushing to come into the XI on Sunday.
Artem Dovbyk appears to have taken over as the first-choice centre-forward, though, and the 26-year-old, who has three league goals this term, is again expected to be supported by Savio and Ivan Martin.
As for Almeria, Ibrahima Kone, Edgar Gonzalez, Luis Suarez, Marc Pubill and Martin Svidersky are unavailable for selection due to injury, while Sergio Akieme and Lucas Robertone are major doubts.
New head coach Garitano will be determined to put his mark on the team, but that will be difficult while the squad has a number of fitness problems.
There are still expected to be changes from the side that started the clash with Athletic last time out, though, with Alex Pozo and Leo Baptistao potentially coming into the XI.
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; E Garcia, Lopez, Blind; Couto, Herrera, A Garcia, Gutierrez; Martin, Dovbyk, Savio
Almeria possible starting lineup:
Maximiano; Pozo, Kaiky, Chumi, Mendes; Embarba, Lopy, Baba, Ramazani; Melero, Baptistao
We say: Girona 2-0 Almeria
La Liga has a habit of throwing up surprise results when they are least expected, but we just cannot see that happening in this match. Girona have proved themselves to be a strong outfit this term, and the Catalan outfit should have too much for a struggling Almeria in this match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
