Sturm Graz and Girona have made poor starts in the UEFA Champions League so both teams will be chasing a crucial three points when they face off in Austria, looking to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive.
The Austrians have crashed to defeats in all four games so far and it's not as if they've been facing Europe's biggest hitters either, with those losses coming to Brest, Club Brugge, Sporting Lisbon and Borussia Dortmund.
Sturm Graz at least put up a fight at the Westfalen, with Donyell Malen scoring the only goal for Dortmund five minutes from time, much to the frustration of our man Lee, who had been hoping for a goalfest.
Girona have taken a seat at Europe's top table for the first time after finishing third in La Liga last term but it has been a steep learning curve so far.
The Spanish side's only win has come at home to whipping boys Slovan Bratislava, with Girona losing their other three games to PSG, Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven.
The Dutch outfit dished out a 4-0 hammering last time out, bringing up two bets for our man Gabriel, so Girona will need a big improvement if they're to spark their European campaign to life in Austria.
How the bookies view it: Girona on even ground
This is a tricky one to call with Sturm Graz having home advantage but Betano make Girona their favourites at evens. Sturm Graz look a bit overpriced at 12/5 and the draw is only a little bit bigger at 13/5.
Head to head: Spain pain for Sturm Graz
With Girona new to European competition, these sides have never faced off before in a competitive game. But Sturm Graz have a poor record against Spanish sides, with five defeats and one draw in their six matches against Real Madrid, Valencia and Real Sociedad.
Players to watch: Bo with the flow
Former Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski opened his Girona account with a double in the weekend win over Espanyol and will have his confidence up. The North Macedonia star is 8/5 with Bet365 to grab another goal in this game.
Sturm Graz's only goal so far in the Champions League was an OG from Brest defender Edimilson Fernandes so it's easy to see why they are at the bottom end of the table. But Mika Biereth has been in scoring form domestically and a double in the weekend rout of Klagenfurt took his tally for the season to 10. The former Arsenal kid is 5/2 at Bet365 for anytime scorer here.
Probable line-ups
Sturm Graz are sweating on the fitness of Gregory Wuthrich, while fellow stoppers Alexandar Borkovic and Jon Gorenc Stankovic remain out along with forward Manprit Sarkaria.
Arnau Martinez is suspended for Girona after his red card in Eindhoven while Yangel Herrera, Gabriel Misehouy, Portu and Ricard Artero are injured. Striker Abel Ruiz is also a doubt after missing out at the weekend.
Sturm Graz: Scherpen, Gazibegovic, Aiwu, Lavalee, Johnston, Chukwuani, Kiteishvili, Boving, Yalcouye, Biereth, Jatta.
Girona: Gazzaniga, Blind, Krejci, Lopez, Juanpe, Martin, Romeu, Gutierrez, Van de Beek, Gil, Miovski.
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams need to go for a win so this should be a decent watch, even though Sturm Graz have lacked punch in Europe this season. BTTS pays just 3/5 at Betano but if you add on over 2.5 goals it boosts the odds to 39/40 in a bet builder.
With so much at stake, this game has the potential to be fiery and backing a busy night for the ref might be a smart move. Over 42.5 booking points pays 11/10 at Betfred while backing a red card to be dished out pays 4/1 with Bet365.
This UEFA Champions League match between Sturm Graz and Girona will be played on Nov 27, 2024 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Sturm Graz vs Girona prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
