GIRONA will bring the curtain down on a remarkable season in La Liga when they entertain Granada at the Estadi Montilivi on Friday night.
In what is just their fourth-ever campaign in the Spanish top-flight, Michel’s men have secured a stunning third-placed finish.
That means the White and Reds will be playing Champions League football for the first time in their history next season.
After earning a 3-1 win at Valencia last weekend, Girona cemented their status as the best of the rest behind behemoths Barcelona and Real Madrid in this season’s standings.
In stark contrast, already-relegated Granada have endured a miserable time of it this term and their season is really finishing with a whimper.
José Ramón Sandoval’s side have slumped to defeat in each of their last four La Liga matches, the most recent of which was a 2-1 defeat at home to Celta Vigo.
How the bookies view it: Girona to go out on a high
Unsurprisingly, Girona are odds-on 2/9 favourites on Bet 365 to sign off for the season with all three points.
Granada – who have failed to win away from home in La Liga this season – are big underdogs at 11/1 (Bet 365), while the draw is also considered improbable at 11/2 (Bet 365).
Head to head: White and Reds reign supreme
The two sides crossed paths for the first time ever in La Liga earlier this season, with Girona claiming a 4-2 victory at the Nuevo Los Cármenes stadium.
Prior to that encounter, the two teams hadn’t come up against each other since squaring off in the second tier way back in 2011, with Girona again taking top honours on that occasion thanks to a 2-1 win.
Players to watch: Artem the ace
Artem Dovbyk has spearheaded Girona’s surge to a top-three finish, with the Ukrainian striker netting 21 times in La Liga this season, a tally bettered only by Villarreal’s Alexander Sorloth. The Girona goal-getter is just 1/2 (Bet 365) to strike on Friday night, while he is 6/4 (Bet 365) to bag a brace and a mere 5/1 (Bet 365) to hit a hat-trick.
Granada’s Gerard Gumbau has racked up 12 yellow cards in La Liga this season so the Spanish midfielder merits consideration for another caution once player card prices become available.
Predicted line-ups
Miguel Gutierrez will miss out for Girona again to a muscle injury but Yan Couto is back in contention after illness ruled him out of last week’s 3-1 win at Valencia.
Granada go into their final game of the season without injured duo Kamil Jozwiak and Myrto Uzuni
Girona: Gazzaniga; Martinez, Lopez, E. Garcia, Blind; A. Garcia, Herrera; Tsygankov, Martin, Savio; Dovbyk
Granada: Martinez; Mendez, Rubio, Piatkowski, Neva; Gumbau, Villar, Ruiz; Pellistri, Boye, Rodelas
Anything else catch the eye?
With Girona unbackable here in the majority of markets, bundling up the hosts to be winning at half-time and full-time alongside Artem Dovbyk to register a shot on target will bring about a backable 4/5 (Bet 365) Bet Builder.
Only Real Madrid have scored more goals than Girona in La Liga this season and Michel’s men will be keen to cap off a memorable campaign by putting on a show for the home faithful.
What’s more, already-relegated Granada are unlikely to put up too much resistance, not to mention the Nazaríes have been trailing at the interval in 12 of their 18 Spanish top-flight road trips this term.
With the aforementioned Artem Dovbyk still in contention for the Golden Boot, round off the 4/5 (Bet 365 ) Bet Builder by backing the Ukrainian striker to hit the target at least once on Friday night.
This La Liga match between Girona and Granada will be played on May 24, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Girona vs Granada prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
