Girona will take on Osasuna in La Liga on Thursday evening with the hosts looking to recapture the form that led them to a third-place finish in the league last season.
After a loss and a draw in their opening two matches of the season, Girona currently sit inside the bottom three but the season is still young and a win here could kickstart their campaign.
Osasuna have fared better so far, picking up four points from their opening two matches so beating them will be far from straightforward.
How the bookies view it: Girona go in as favourites
Despite their poor start to the season, Girona are still being backed by the bookies for this one. Betfred have priced the Girona win at 8/11 while Osasuna are considered as rank outsiders at 18/5. The draw, which would certainly be a better result for the visitors, has been priced at 11/4.
Recent head-to-head: Advantage Girona
Girona will perhaps be feeling a little fragile after failing to win their opening two matches of the new season but they should take solace from their record against Osasuna. Out of the last five matches between the two teams, Girona have won three of them, drawn one and lost one.
The last time that Osasuna managed to win a match away against Girona was back in 2016 when both clubs were still playing in the second tier of Spanish football.
Players to watch: Can Ruiz get off the mark?
Abel Ruiz has a lot of pressure on his shoulders this summer as he looks to replace the goals scored by Artem Dovbyk at Girona last season. The Ukrainian scored 24 goals for the clubs last season but has left to join Roma this summer and Ruiz is seen as his direct replacement following his signing from Braga.
Ruiz has never been the most prolific of goalscorers with his best league tally to date being the eight he scored for Braga in 2022/23. Despite that, Girona's hierarchy obviously saw something in him but he is going to need to get on the scoresheet soon to silence the detractors. Could he break his duck for his new club on Thursday?
Osasuna's man to watch is Ante Budimir. The 33-year-old striker has been the club's main man up front for the past four years and netted an impressive 17 goals in La Liga last season. Budimir is also looking to get off the mark this season and will fancy his chances on Thursday given the current fragility of the Girona squad.
Predicted line-ups
Both clubs are dealing with injury problems ahead of this one. Girona are without Ricard Artero and Jastin due to ankle and shoulder issues while Osasuna are without Ruben Pena, Kirke Barja and Iker Munoz due to various muscle problems.
Girona: Gazzaniga – Martinez, Lopez, Blind, Gutierrez – Romeu, Herrera, Martin – Tsygankov, Portu, Miovski
Osasuna: Herrera – Areso, Catena, Herrando, Cruz – Ibanez, Torro – Gomez, Oroz, Zaragoza – Budimir
Anything else catch the eye?
Neither of these teams have been involved in high-scoring classics over the opening two weekends of the season and given their struggles at the top of the pitch, it would be unwise to back a goalfest on Thursday. Under 2.5 goals to be scored in priced at 1/1 with Betfed.
This La Liga match between Girona and Osasuna will be played on Aug 29, 2024 and kick off at 18:00. Check below for our tipsters best Girona vs Osasuna prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
