Barcelona vs Girona predictions and match preview for Sunday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups ahead of this Catalan derby.
| Date | Monday 10th April 2023 |
| Kick-Off | 21:00 (CET) |
| Stadium | Camp Nou |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Barcelona vs Girona Preview
Barcelona have had five days to stew over their 4-0 home Clasico humiliation at the hands of Real Madrid and they’ll be hungry to put in a better account of themselves here. Catalan rivals Girona are the visitors with the hosts aiming to take another step towards the title.
It won’t now be a domestic treble which looked very much on the cards after Barcelona won the 1st Leg of their cup Semi-Final 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. That’s a blow for Barça and there are rightly questions being asked after they again crumbled defensively in a big game, despite their outstanding league record of just 9 goals conceded in 27 games. However, Xavi should at least have a league trophy to show for his first full season at the helm, and that’s no mean feat given where they were when he took charge.
Injuries also played a big part in last week’s loss and will continue to hamper Barcelona here. Ousmane Dembele, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Andreas Christensen will all sit this out and would all feature in Xavi’s strongest eleven. Those absences pose selection questions for the Barcelona boss that he struggled to fill last week with the Catalans lacking control in midfield and looking shaky in defence with Jules Kounde having a surprisingly bad night in his favoured central defensive position, while neither Marcos Alonso nor Eric Garcia fully convince as alternatives to Christensen or Ronald Araujo.
Girona will sense a small opportunity to put in a performance at the home of their neighbours and potentially get what would be a historic result. That may prove easier said than done though with the visitors also missing a number of players to injury currently. That didn’t stop them winning a Catalan derby last weekend against Espanyol though and Michel’s side are closer to the European battle than the relegation places as a result.
They are only two more wins off the magic 40 point figure now and that’s testament to the good work that has been done at Girona this season. They’ve been easy on the eye and head into this match with the fourth best goalscoring record in LaLiga with only the “big three” clubs having netted more. There are defensive flaws though and that’s clearly a concern in a tough away game like this.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Barcelona
| INJURED | Christensen, De Jong, Dembele, Pedri |
| DOUBTFUL | |
| BANNED |
Possible XI: Ter Stegen – Balde, Alonso, Araujo, Kounde – Gavi, Busquets, Roberto – Fati, Lewandowski, Raphinha (4-3-3)
Coach: Xavi
Girona
| INJURED | Kebe, Herrera |
| DOUBTFUL | Callens, Aleix Garcia, Borja Garcia |
| BANNED | Reinier |
Possible XI: Gazzaniga – Miguel, Lopez, Bueno, Arnau – Borja Garcia, Romeu, Ivan Martin – Riquelme, Castellanos, Tsygankov (4-3-3)
Coach: Michel
Score Prediction: Barcelona 2-1 Girona
If Girona are willing to take a few risks here, they could certainly cause problems for what won’t be Barcelona’s first choice defence. However the hosts will be determined to respond to last week’s loss and up against an unconvincing Girona backline, it’s a decent chance for Robert Lewandowski to add to his goal tally for the season and fire his team to three more points.
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