Preview: Girona vs. Granada

Sports Mole previews Friday’s La Liga clash between Girona and Granada, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Concluding a sensational 2023-24 La Liga campaign, Champions League-bound Girona welcome relegated Granada to Montilivi on Friday.

Michel’s men are guaranteed to finish in the bronze medal position in the rankings, while their demoted foes can only hope to avoid finishing bottom of the pile en route to the second tier.

Match preview
© Reuters

Preparations for an unforeseen Champions League campaign are in full swing for 2023-24 surprise package Girona, whose quest for title glory may have not come to fruition, but Michel’s troops will finish on the podium positions courtesy of an exceptional several months.

Since the turn of the year, more losses have appeared on Girona’s record as Real Madrid stormed off into the title sunset, and a slight drop-off also allowed deposed champions Barcelona to build up an unassailable lead in second place, as they took just one point from six on offer against Alaves and Villarreal.

However, a trip to a fellow top-half outfit in Valencia last weekend ended with Girona emphatically returning to victorious ways, as Savio, Artem Dovbyk and a Yarek Gasiorowski own goal did the damage before Pepelu’s penalty wiped out the visitors’ clean sheet in a 3-1 success.

Four points adrift of Barcelona while boasting a buffer of five over Atletico Madrid, third place is wrapped up for Girona ahead of Friday’s finale, where the hosts will endeavour to avoid losing back-to-back La Liga home matches for the first time in the current campaign.

Whether Michel will still be in control of the reins for Girona’s Champions League adventure remains to be seen, though, as the 48-year-old is understandably thought to be on the radar of a handful of European clubs ahead of this summer’s managerial merry-go-round.

In contrast, Granada boss Jose Ramon Sandoval should not be anticipating any offers from the continent’s best this summer, having failed in his bid to keep the 2020-21 Europa League quarter-finalists adrift in Spain’s top division since being appointed two months ago.

Taking seven points from three matches against Alaves, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna in April managed to delay Granada’s slide down the relegation slope, but Sandoval’s men have since gone four matches in May without picking up a single point, and their demotion was confirmed before they even kicked the first ball in their 4-0 loss to Real Madrid on May 11.

Friday’s visitors are going down waving the white flag too, as they have since been sent packing 2-1 by Rayo Vallecano and Celta Vigo – succumbing to strikes from Jorgen Strand Larsen and Jonathan Bamba against the latter – to occupy a dismal 19th place in the table.

Sandoval’s men cannot earn the consolation prize of pipping Cadiz to 18th place, and while they are three points better off than basement side Almeria, their identical head-to-head points and goals tallies means that Granada could still be bumped down to last place on goal difference.

The away form book does not make for positive reading for a visiting side trying to avoid such a fate – they are the only La Liga team without a win on their travels in the current campaign – and September’s six-goal thriller with Girona saw Michel’s crop run out 4-2 victors.

Girona La Liga form:

Granada La Liga form:

Team News
© Reuters

No Girona players left the pitch nursing any physical problems in the recent beating of Valencia, although Ricard Artero (ankle), John Solis (thigh) and Joel Roca (ACL) are all unavailable, and Borja Garcia (thigh) is not expected to make the cut either.

Michel’s team must also conduct a once-over on left-back Miguel Gutierrez, who sat out the penultimate gameweek due to a knock to the thigh, but there is optimism that Yan Couto’s illness will settle down in time for him to be involved.

Alexander Sorloth’s incredible four-goal haul for Villarreal against Real Madrid means that hotshot Dovbyk is two strikes behind the Norwegian in the Golden Boot race, so the Ukrainian ought to reprise his role up front as he bids to catch his fellow prolific frontman.

Regarding Granada’s injury situation, centre-back Raul Torrente could not complete the full 90 minutes against Celta Vigo due to muscular cramps, but there is no suggestion that his affliction will be serious enough to sideline him on Friday.

That is more than can be said for Kamil Jozwiak (hamstring), while all of Raul Fernandez (wrist), Myrto Uzuni (Achilles), Ignasi Miquel (discomfort) and Augusto Batalla (discomfort) are on the touch-and-go list, but there would be little sense in risking them at this juncture.

Kamil Piatkowski will be the first port of call if Torrente is spared too, but attacker Antonio Puertas missed a last-minute penalty off the bench against Celta Vigo – thereby squandering a golden chance for a point – and has severely harmed his chances of getting back into the starting lineup.

Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Martinez, Lopez, E. Garcia, Blind; A. Garcia, Herrera; Tsygankov, Martin, Savio; Dovbyk

Granada possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Mendez, Rubio, Piatkowski, Neva; Gumbau, Villar, Ruiz; Pellistri, Boye, Rodelas

We say: Girona 3-0 Granada
Granada’s woeful season is surely destined to end without a single away success to their name, as Girona’s hotshot attackers should still be running riot at this late stage of the campaign.

Michel’s men nearly blew a three-goal lead on their visitors’ turf eight months ago, but there should be no such scares on Friday, where the bronze medallists ought to stroll to a closing victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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