Barcelona will be looking to close the gap on the frontrunners as they welcome second placed Girona to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys for a La Liga fixture on Sunday. The Catalans have been far from their best this season and may struggle to get past Girona, who have impressed this season.
It has not been the smoothest title defence for Barcelona, who are struggling to replicate last season’s performances. They are currently third on the standings, four points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Although things have been a bit difficult for Barcelona this season, they have managed to eke out results in recent weeks. Xavi’s men are unbeaten in their last four La Liga matches, claiming three wins in that run, including a 1-0 victory against Atletico Madrid last time out in La Liga.
Among the positives for Barcelona this season is a solid record at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, where they have lost just once in their last eight La Liga matches. They have picked up seven wins in that run and will take confidence from the win over Atletico Madrid.
Girona have been the surprise team in La Liga this season and are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. They are currently four points above Barcelona and level with leaders Real Madrid at the top of the standings.
Michel Sanchez’s men have been particularly impressive in recent weeks and are unbeaten in their last nine matches across all competitions. They have claimed eight wins in that run, including a 2-1 victory over Valencia last time out in La Liga and a 5-2 triumph at Orihuela in the Copa Del Rey in midweek.
The result at Orihuela extends an impressive record on the road for Girona, who have won their last eight away matches across all competitions. They have beaten the likes of Sevilla and Villarreal in that run and claimed a 2-1 victory at Rayo Vallecano in their previous La Liga fixture on the road.
How the bookies view it
Barcelona are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 8/15 by Unibet. A victory for Girona is valued at 5/1 by BetVictor while bet365 is offering odds of 4/1 for a draw.
Head to head
Barcelona have only lost once to Girona, claiming eight wins and two draws from 11 previous matches. Both teams battled to a 0-0 draw in their last La Liga meeting back in April.
Players to watch
Joao Felix has looked sharp for Barcelona in recent weeks, scoring in his last two matches across all competitions. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at 41/20 by Unibet.
Girona have plenty of attacking threats but Artem Dovbyk remains their leading scorer with seven La Liga goals so far. The striker is priced at 23/10 by Paddy Power to get on the score sheet on Sunday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams appear to know their way to goal and could be backed to score at 8/13 with bet365. Girona have seen over 3.5 goals in two of their last three away matches and could be set for a repeat at 27/20 with Unibet.
Barcelona and Girona have battled to halftime draws in their last two meetings and Sunday’s clash could be set to follow a similar pattern at evens with BoyleSports.
This La Liga match between Barcelona and Girona will be played on Dec 10, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Girona prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
