La Liga surprise package Girona will face a special match-up on Sunday as the side gears up to battle Barcelona in a Catalan derby.
Bookmaker Betfred offers odds at 1.53 for the first goal to be scored before the 31st minute. The odds are at 3.10 for the first goal to be scored in 31-60 minutes and 7.50 for the first goal to come after the 60th minute.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: December 9th, 7:30 A.M. (EST)
It’s only the seventh top-flight meeting of all time between the two neighbors, and Girona has yet to win a single one of them, recording six defeats, but things could go very differently this time around. Only Real Madrid has beaten Michel’s men in La Liga this season, and Girona sits level on points at the top of the table with Carlo Ancelotti’s team.
Michel plays a very progressive style of football, making Girona fun to watch. Previously, the team has struggled badly on the defensive end, and last season, only four teams conceded more goals in La Liga than Girona, but the screws have been tightened at the back in 2023-24, and it’s helped the Blanquivermells be very competitive.
Girona still tends to concede significantly more goals than Real and Barcelona, but they currently top the league’s scoring charts with 34 goals through 15 games, and there aren’t many sides in top European football that can match Girona’s production this season. Ahead of this weekend’s action, only Manchester City (36), PSG (36), Leverkusen (38), and Bayern Munich (43) have scored more times in the five big leagues.
The Girona attack mainly runs through Artem Dovbyk, who’s played a part in 11 league goals, notching seven himself and registering four assists. With Dovbyk in the lineup, Girona has an incredible record this season with 12 wins, one draw, and one loss. He missed a recent 1-1 draw with Athletic Club. The Ukrainian center forward also has a very capable backup in Cristhian Stuani, who’s netted five times while barely logging over 500 minutes of action.
Girona’s 3-0 loss to Real also marks the lone occasion Michel’s team has been kept from scoring this season. Can Barcelona join Los Blancos on Sunday? There have been some struggles at the back for Barca lately, but the team has just shut down the fourth-best attack in the league, recording an impressive 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid in the last La Liga round.
Barcelona trails Girona and Real by four points and will look at Sunday’s contest at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys as a must-win game. They have already lost the first El Classico to Rea land the failure to beat another potential title rival would be a bitter blow in the quest to defend the La Liga crown.
