Preview: Girona vs. Valencia - prediction, team news, lineups

Los Che will enter the contest off the back of a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid on Thursday night, while Girona suffered a 1-0 defeat to Barcelona in their last match on January 28.

Match preview

Girona secured a return to this level through last season's Segunda Division playoffs, so finishing 17th or higher in La Liga this term would go down as a successful campaign.

The White and Reds have won five, drawn six and lost eight of their 19 league matches this season to collect 21 points, which has left them in 12th spot in the table, two points ahead of the relegation zone.

The battle to remain in La Liga this season is set to be fierce, with only three points separating 11th-placed Almeria from Cadiz in 18th, while only Elche at the bottom have been cut adrift.

Girona recorded a 2-1 victory over Sevilla on January 14 but have lost their last two matches, both 1-0, to Villarreal and Barcelona.

Michel's side certainly have some winnable games over the next few weeks, and their home form could be key, having picked up a respectable 15 points from 10 league games in 2022-23.

Valencia, meanwhile, started life after Gennaro Gattuso with a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid on Thursday night; Voro is currently in charge of Los Che on an interim basis, as the club search for a Gattuso replacement.

The Italian had a record of seven wins, six draws and nine defeats from 22 matches in charge of Valencia, and he was sacked at the end of January following the 1-0 defeat at Real Valladolid.

Valencia have not actually won in the league since beating Real Betis 3-0 on November 10, losing four of their last five matches, picking up just a single point in the process.

The six-time Spanish champions are currently 14th in the table, only one point clear of the relegation zone, while they are now 11 points behind sixth-placed Real Betis.

Los Che finished fourth in back-to-back seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19, but they were 13th in 2020-21, and it would not be a shock to see them end this campaign in a similar position.

Valencia actually have the fourth-worst away record in La Liga this term, having picked up just six points from their nine matches on their travels, scoring only eight times in the process.

Girona La Liga form:

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D

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Girona form (all competitions):

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D

D

W

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L

Valencia La Liga form:

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L

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D

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Valencia form (all competitions):

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D

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L

Team News

Girona will be without the services of Arnau Martinez following his booking against Barcelona last time out.

Santiago Bueno will be back from a suspension of his own, though, with the 24-year-old potentially replacing Martinez in the starting side for this weekend's contest.

Yan Couto, David Lopez, Ibrahima Kebe and Reinier are all missing through injury, meanwhile, so it is likely to be a similar starting side from the one that featured against Barcelona.

As for Valencia, Gabriel Paulista is suspended due to his red card in the loss to Real Madrid on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the visitors will also be missing Justin Kluivert, Thierry Correia, Nico Gonzalez and Jaume Domenech through injury.

Due to the relatively quick turnaround, there are expected to be a couple of changes from the side that started at Bernabeu, with Marcos Andre and Ilaix Moriba potentially coming into the first XI for this match.

However, Edinson Cavani should again lead the line, with the Uruguay international scoring five times in La Liga during the 2022-23 campaign.

Girona possible starting lineup:

Gazzaniga; Bueno, Espinosa, Juanpe, Gutierrez; Villa, Romeu, A Garcia, Riquelme; Herrera, Castellanos

Valencia possible starting lineup:

Mamardashvili; Foulquier, Comert, Diakhaby, Gaya; Musah, Moriba, Almeida; Andre, Cavani, Lino

We say: Girona 1-1 Valencia

Valencia have actually won four of their last five La Liga matches against Girona, including a 1-0 success in the reverse game earlier this season, but we are finding it difficult to back Los Che due to their away struggles this term. Girona have drawn six times in the league this term, and we are backing another stalemate here.

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