WITH both Girona and Real Sociedad having underwhelming seasons so far in La Liga, this should be an interesting duel when they meet on Saturday. Here we preview the clash, where a win for Sociedad would see them climb level with points with their opponents.
How the bookies view it: Girona narrow home favourites
It doesn’t look as if there will be much between the two sides on the weekend, but home advantage often makes a difference. Here Girona is 7/5 for the win at Unibet, with Real Sociedad at 2/1. If the fixture was reversed, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see those odds reversed as well. Given the standing of the teams and Sociedad's poor recent form, the odds look fair.
Recent head-to-head: A sequence of stalemates
Drawn results have been prominent in recent meetings. The last three have all ended in parity, for example, as have a staggering six of the last eight. Girona have only defeated Real Sociedad once before, and that was back in 2010. So it’s Real Sociedad that leads the overall head-to-head with a W2 D7 L1 record. Another draw fetches a quote of 9/5 at William Hill.
Players to watch: Stuani the key man for Girona
Cristhian Stuani has netted in three of Girona’s four home matches this season, so he is an obvious pick in the anytime goalscorer market. Remarkably all three of his home goals happened after the 80th minute, so don’t be surprised to see him pop up late and he’s at 6/1 in the Last Goalscorer market.
Real Sociedad in contrast have failed to score in four of their last six matches, tallying two goals in total in that sequence. It’s hard to pick out a threat for them until someone decides to pull on their shooting boots this season for them.
Predicted Lineups
Real Sociedad should be close to full strength, with only Hamari Traore and Arsen Zakharayan at risk of missing out through injury. Girona have bigger problems with a long injury list including Daley Blind, Oriol Romeu and potentially Pau Lopez and Bryan Gil adding to their absentees.
Girona: Gazzaniga; A Martinez, D Lopez, Krejci, Gutierrez; Martin, Herrera; Asprilla, Van de Beek, Danjuma; Ruiz
Real Sociedad: Remiro; Aramburu, Zubeldia, Aguerd, Gomez; Zubimendi; Kubo, Sucic, Mendez, Becker; Oyarzabal
Anything else catches the eye?
Girona have won two of their four home games this season, and those wins were against teams who are currently in the top six. Two of their three defeats in the campaign have happened against top-three sides, so they may not be in bad shape in terms of form. But they could be hampered on the weekend by a big injury list however.
As the visiting Real Sociedad have been very lightweight in front of goal this season, Girona may still prove to be difficult to beat. Real Sociedad have won only one of their last six league matches (D2 L3) so haven’t been in great form. In four matches against teams currently in the top half of the table this season, they have managed to take one point in total. A point may be a good return for them on the weekend.
This La Liga match between Girona and Real Sociedad will be played on Oct 19, 2024 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Girona vs Real Sociedad prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
