La Liga | Gameweek 18

Dec 20, 2024 at 8pm UK

Estadi Municipal de Montilivi

Gironavs.Valladolid

Match preview

Girona go into the clash on a six-match winless run in all competitions, with Michel's men having not won since a 4-1 La Liga win over Espanyol on 23 November.

The Catalans picked up a point in a 2-2 draw with Villarreal earlier this month, but have lost their last four, including a shock defeat to UD Logrones in the Copa del Rey.

Girona were also beaten at home by Liverpool in the Champions League, while league defeats to Real Madrid and Mallorca have seen them drop to 10th in the La Liga table.

With a record of six wins, four draws and seven defeats from their 17 league games this term, and currently 11 points adrift of the top four, it will be extremely difficult for them to repeat their heroics of last season, when they finished third to qualify for the league phase of the Champions League.

Girona have taken 13 points from their eight league games at home this season, and will welcome a Real Valladolid side that has lost seven of its eight La Liga matches away from home in 2024-25.

Real Valladolid go into this game on the back of a huge 1-0 win over Valencia, with Anuar Tuhami scoring the only goal of the game in the 20th minute to secure all three points for the hosts.

The win was enough to move the White and Violets off the bottom of the table, but they are only two points clear of 20th-placed Valencia, who have two games in hand, so things could change very quickly.

Diego Cocca was confirmed as Real Valladolid's new head coach on Saturday, and it will be interesting to see how the 52-year-old does in his first job in Spanish football.

The visitors have the worst defensive record in La Liga this season, conceding 34 goals in their 17 games, so there is plenty of room for improvement in that department over the coming months.

Real Valladolid have won two of the last three La Liga meetings between these two sides, but they were beaten 2-1 in the corresponding fixture in the 2022-23 season.

Recent Performance

Girona La Liga form:WWWDLL

Girona form (all competitions):LDLLLL

Real Valladolid La Liga form:LDLLLW

Real Valladolid form (all competitions):DLLWLW

Team News

Girona will again be without Bojan Miovski and Viktor Tsygankov due to injury, while Yangel Herrera faces a late fitness test with a muscular problem.

However, Ladislav Krejci is available after serving a suspension and is expected to return to the backline as head coach Michel may revert to a 3-5-1-1 formation.

Miguel Gutierrez continues to be linked with an exit, but the Spaniard will be back in the XI, while Donny van de Beek, who got on the scoresheet in the defeat to Mallorca, should get another start.

Real Valladolid will be without Selim Amallah due to a muscle problem, while the visitors will be without two players through suspension on Friday.

Kike Perez received a yellow card against Valencia, while Juanmi Latasa was sent off in the second half.

Eray Comert, however, is back from a ban of his own and Mamadou Sylla should also be back in contention after the 30-year-old recovered from the knock that kept him out against Los Che.

Possible starting lineup

Girona possible starting lineup:

Gazzaniga; D Lopez, Krejci, Blind; Gil, A Martinez, Romeu, Van de Beek, Gutierrez; Asprilla; Danjuma

Real Valladolid possible starting lineup:

Hein; Perez, Bah, J Sanchez, Rosa; Juric, Comert; Sylla, Tuhami, Moro; Andre