Girona will be aiming to continue their strong run of form in Spain's top flight when they travel to Estadio Municipal Jose Zorrilla on Saturday to take on Real Valladolid.
The visitors are currently ninth in the table, just two points behind eighth-placed Rayo Vallecano, while Valladolid sit 14th, five points clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
© Reuters
Valladolid secured a return to La Liga courtesy of finishing second in the Segunda Division last season, so any spot higher than 18th would be considered a successful campaign for the club.
There is still a lot of football to be played between now and the end of the season, but the White and Violets are currently outside of the relegation zone, picking up 32 points from their 29 matches, which has left them five points ahead of 18th-placed Valencia on the same number of games (29).
Paulo Pezzolano was appointed head coach earlier this month, and the 39-year-old has picked up four points from his two games at the helm, drawing with Mallorca before winning 2-1 against Villarreal last time out.
Valladolid now have a healthy gap to the bottom three, but the picture is changing on a week-to-week basis, and a poor result in this match would put major pressure on them heading into a clash with relegation-threatened Valencia next weekend.
Pucela have picked up 21 points from their 14 home league games this season, and they will be welcoming a Girona side with one of the poorer away records, having only claimed 11 points on their travels this term.
© Reuters
Girona, meanwhile, were also promoted from the Segunda Division last season, finishing sixth in the division before earning a spot in La Liga via the playoffs.
The White and Reds have enjoyed a hugely successful campaign to date, boasting a record of 10 wins, eight draws and 11 defeats from 29 matches to collect 38 points, which has left them in ninth position.
Michel's side are 11 points clear of the relegation zone and only two points behind eighth-placed Rayo, so they should certainly be looking up the division at this stage rather than down.
Girona finished 10th in their first ever La Liga campaign in 2017-18 and look on course for a similar spot this term, and they will enter this match off the back of a strong run.
Indeed, Michel's team have picked up eight points from their last four league games, including home wins over Espanyol and Elche, while they held Barcelona to a 0-0 draw in their last away match on April 10.
Team News
© Reuters
Real Valladolid's injury situation is unchanged from their win over Villarreal last time out, with Lucas Olaza and Anuar Tuhami remaining on the sidelines.
Due to the manner of the performance and result against the Yellow Submarine, it would not be a surprise to see the same XI take to the field for this weekend's contest.
A 3-4-3 formation should therefore see Selim Amallah feature in a forward area alongside Cyle Larin and Gonzalo Plata, with Sergio Leon and Kenedy both on the bench.
As for Girona, Borja Garcia, David Lopez, Joel Roca, Alexander Callens, Yangel Herrera and Ibrahima Kebe will miss the contest due to fitness issues.
Reiner will be back from a suspension, but Santiago Bueno and Valentin Castellanos are now banned following their bookings in the win over Elche last time out.
As a result, Miguel Gutierrez could come in for a start in defence, while Castellanos's absence is likely to lead to Cristhian Stuani featuring at centre-forward for the visitors.
Real Valladolid possible starting lineup:
Masip; Fernandez, Hongla, El Yamiq; Perez, Kike, Monchu, Fresneda; Larin, Amallah, Plata
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; A Martinez, Juanpe, Gutierrez, Hernandez; Romeu, Martin, A Garcia; Tsygankov, Stuani, T Villa
We say: Real Valladolid 1-1 Girona
Girona will be missing a number of important players for this match, but we are finding it hard to back them to lose due to their recent form. Real Valladolid are also impressing under their new manager, so we have ultimately settled on a draw in this weekend's contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
