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From the Madrid derby between Real and Atletico in the Copa Del Rey, we will now be switching focus to the Catalan derby that will feature Girona and Barcelona in the La Liga fixture between the two sides to be played at the Estadi Montilivi on Saturday.
Barcelona will be looking to make it eight consecutive victories in a row in all competitions when they travel across town. Xavi’s side have taken a hold of proceedings in La Liga and have a three-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the table. Meanwhile, Girona have collected 21 points from their 18 matches so far this season and they occupy the 11th place in the table.
Girona had secured their return to La Liga for the 2022/23 season on the back of their strong performance in the Segunda Division. The Catalan club then won their playoff fixture to return to the Spanish top flight for the first time since 2019. This has allowed Girona to resume hostilities with their more acclaimed Catalan rivals in Barcelona and Espanyol.
The White and Reds have had a pretty decent campaign in La Liga so far this season. Having played 18 games, they have won five matches, drawn six times, and lost on seven occasions. As a result, they have been able to pick up 21 points and are 11th in the standings. The newly-promoted side are above the clubs like Valencia, Espanyol, Sevilla, Getafe, and Celta Vigo in the league table which is a wonderfully encouraging testament to their efforts.
Girona are also just five points behind eighth-placed Athletic Bilbao. Meanwhile, the club is also on a strong run of form and have faced defeat only once in all of their last eight matches in the Spanish top flight recently.
That defeat, however, arrived in their most recent encounter with Villarreal. On their trip to Villarreal, Girona were reduced to 10 men after Santiago Bueno got sent off late in the second half. It took a Dani Parejo penalty in the 10th minute of added time at the end of full time for the Yellow Submarine to pick up all three points and the result was harsh on the Girona players who showed plenty of resolve and determination.
Michel’s team have been successful in picking up 15 points from their nine home league games this season, but Barcelona have the second-best record on their travels, collecting 21 points from eight matches.
The last time these two Catalan sides came face to face was in January 2019. On that occasion, Girona had suffered a 2-0 loss. However, they were able to hold Barcelona to a draw and pick up a point after a sensational showing at the Camp Nou in September 2018.
Barcelona, meanwhile, have been on a bit of a roll this season. They were up against arguably the most in-form side in Spain besides them in Real Sociedad in their Copa Del Rey quarter-final tie at the Camp Nou this week.
Although they only had a 1-0 scoreline to show for their dominance thanks to a wonderful second half strike from Ousmane Dembele, Xavi’s side were in control of the game from the very first minute and created chances in abundance. Dembele, especially, had a top game while the midfield of Frenkie De Jong, Pedri, Gavi, and Sergio Busquets continues to be a revelation for this new-look Blaugrana side.
Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, and Andreas Christensen also added safety at the back while goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen was called upon to make a couple of crucial saves towards the end of the game.
It was the league leaders’ seventh consecutive victory across all competitions and Barcelona haven’t dropped points since their New Year’s Eve draw with Espanyol at the Camp Nou. The Catalan giants have also lifted the Supercopa de Espana this year, beating Real Madrid in the final on January 15.
Xavi’s men also secured a 1-0 win over Getafe in their previous La Liga encounter. Pedri’s goal in the first half proved to be the difference between the two sides and Barcelona maintain their three-point lead over Real Madrid at the top. In fact, a win here would allow them to momentarily extend that advantage to six points given that Los Blancos will be involved in action later on Sunday against Real Sociedad.
Barcelona have not been defeated in any competition since their loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League at the end of October. They are competing on three fronts this season and besides taking the lead in La Liga and qualifying for the semi-final of the Copa Del Rey, the Blaugrana will also face Manchester United in a Europa League knockout round playoff tie next month.
There is still a lot of football to be played this term, and it does appear that it will be a fascinating race for the La Liga title; Real Madrid need to keep winning to stay in touch with the leaders, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side have a very tough match at home to Real Sociedad on Sunday night.
Prior to what could be a tantalising first leg clash with Manchester United in the Europa League at the Camp Nou on February 16, Barcelona will be playing three more matches in the league against Real Betis, Sevilla, and Villarreal after this assignment with local rivals Girona.
GIR vs FCB, La Liga 2022/23
Date: 28th January, 2023
Time: 8:45 PM IST
Venue: Estadi Montilivi, Girona
FORM GUIDE:
Girona La Liga form:
- W-W-D-D-W-L
Girona form (all competitions):
- L-L-D-D-W-L
Barcelona La Liga form:
- W-W-W-D-W-W
Barcelona form (all competitions):
- W-W-W-W-W-W
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
Girona wins: 9
Draws: 6
Barcelona wins: 24
TEAM NEWS:
Girona Team News:
Girona will continue to miss the services of David Lopez, Reinier and Ibrahima Kebe as they are all out injured. Meanwhile, Santiago Bueno’s red card in the previous game with Villarreal will see him being suspended for this clash.
Head coach Michel will have been delighted with many aspects of his team’s performance against the Yellow Submarine, so the bulk of the XI that started last time should again take to the field here.
However, Valentin Castellanos could potentially come in for Cristhian Stuani at centre-forward, while Bueno’s spot in the middle of the defence is expected to be taken by Javi Hernandez.
Barcelona Team News:
As far as Barcelona are concerned, Pedri has been declared fit despite seemingly suffering discomfort during the cup tie with Real Sociedad and being taken off. However, Xavi might decide to exercise caution with him and rest the star midfielder ahead of a busy and cramped schedule against tricky opposition sides. The chances are that Franck Kessie could come in his place in midfield.
The Catalan side continue to march forward with no major absentees due to injury reasons. However, they will continue to miss their forwards in Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres who remain suspended because of red cards. This will be the last match in Lewandowski’s suspension period while Ferran will have to spend another game suspended after this assignment.
The likes of Marcos Alonso, Raphinha, Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba are among those who will be in contention for starts should Xavi decide to make changes.
However, there might ultimately be just one change from the side that started against Real Sociedad, with Ansu Fati potentially coming in for Lewandowski at centre-forward.
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Martinez, Hernandez, Espinosa, Gutierrez; Romeu, A Garcia; Riquelme, Martin, Villa; Castellanos
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Alba; Kessie, Busquets, F de Jong; Dembele, Fati, Gavi
Predictions:
Girona are no pushovers and they are well capable of making this a tricky and complicated challenge for Barcelona away from home, especially if the latter does decide to rotate and rest players. The scoreline could prove to be tight on paper but in the end, Barcelona are in majestic form and most of their players are playing at a very high level. As such, it will be surprising if the Catalan giants don’t win this game and extend their lead at the top of the table.
GIR vs FCB Fantasy XI No. 1
GIR vs FCB Fantasy XI No. 2
