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Preview: Girona vs. Celta Vigo - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 24 August 2022, 11:00
Girona play host to Celta Vigo on Friday evening looking to build on their promising start since earning a return to La Liga.

Meanwhile, the visitors are still searching for their first victory of the campaign, their most recent outing ending in a heavy defeat to Real Madrid.

Match preview

Having finished in the bottom half of the standings in 2021-22, Celta Vigo are under pressure to deliver an improved campaign this time around.

However, starting with a 2-2 draw at home to Espanyol was not what Eduardo Coudet would have hoped for ahead of playing host to the champions last weekend.

Even without Casemiro in the Los Blancos XI, Celta Vigo were overwhelmed by the visitors, conceding four goals in the opening 66 minutes before losing by a 4-1 scoreline.

Although Coudet's team were level at one stage, they capitulated like they did when holding a two-goal lead against Espanyol in the previous fixture.

While games with Girona and Cadiz represent an opportunity to get back on track, visits to Atletico Madrid and Valencia are lurking on the schedule after the upcoming double-header.

From Girona's perspective, Michel has to be delighted with his team's start to the campaign with a win over Getafe being posted at the start of this week.

Three goals were netted inside the opening 64 minutes to kick-start their campaign after a narrow 1-0 defeat at Valencia on the first weekend.

Despite this squad being boosted by several additions from clubs affiliated with City Football Group, beginning with three points from two games after only finishing sixth in the second tier last season will be deemed to be a success.

However, with a trip to the two Madrid clubs coming in October, Michel and his squad are under pressure to keep accumulating points over the next six weeks.

Girona La Liga form:

Celta Vigo La Liga form:

Team News

Barring any further injury issues, Michael could stick with the same Girona players which made relatively light work of Getafe.

While Samuel Saiz and Reinier are pushing for a chance in a creative role, Rodrigo Riquelme should retain his spot in the team.

As it stands, Santi Mina is the only player who is absent from the Celta Vigo squad for this fixture.

Coudet will contemplate whether to make a couple of changes, potentially including new arrival Carles Perez in the final third.

After starting the first game of the season, Augusto Solari was an unused substitute against Real Madrid, and he, too, may return to the starting lineup.

Girona possible starting lineup:

Martin; Bueno, Lopez, Juanpe; Couto, Herrera, Garcia, Riquelme, Gutierrez; Stuani, Castellanos

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Marchesin; Mallo, Aidoo, Nunez, Galan; Cervi, Tapia, Beltran, Rodriguez; Aspas, Paciencia

We say: Girona 1-2 Celta Vigo

With a victory already on the board, Girona can afford to play with more freedom when they take to the pitch for this fixture. However, we cannot ignore the quality of the visitors, who we expect to edge this contest by the odd goal in three after a competitive game.

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