Girona will continue their preparations for what will be a historic 2024-25 campaign on Saturday morning, with the La Liga outfit taking on French side Montpellier HSC.
The Catalan team drew 1-1 with Olot in their opening friendly on Wednesday, while this will represent Montpellier's first pre-season fixture, with the club building towards the new Ligue 1 season.
Match preview
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Girona had an incredible 2023-24 campaign, finishing third in La Liga behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, which allowed them to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League.
The White and Reds are preparing to play in Europe for the first time in their history, and it will be fascinating to see how the team perform during the upcoming campaign, as there will be more pressure and increased demands on the players.
Michel's side actually ended their 2023-24 La Liga season with a 7-0 victory over Granada, and they were back in action on Wednesday, opening their pre-season with a 1-1 draw against Olot.
Girona have a busy schedule in the coming weeks, facing Espanyol, Toulouse, Napoli, Newcastle United and Bournemouth in friendlies before starting their new La Liga campaign against Real Betis on August 15.
The Catalan team have brought in four new players this summer, with arguably the most eye-catching of those proving to be Donny van de Beek, who has moved to the club from Manchester United.
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Montpellier, meanwhile, finished in 12th spot in Ligue 1 last season, picking up 41 points from their 34 matches, which left them 12 points ahead of the relegation zone.
La Paillade will begin their 2024-25 campaign against Strasbourg on August 17, but they have a lot of matches to come before then, taking to the field on six occasions during pre-season.
After this contest, Michel Der Zakarian's side will face Southampton, before tackling Saint-Etienne, Fiorentina, Cannes and Mainz 05 in their final four games of the summer.
Montpellier are yet to make a signing during the current transfer window, but 18-year-old attacker Othmane Maamma has been promoted to the first team from Montpellier B.
There is also still plenty of time left before the market closes, and there are expected to be additions at the club before the return of competitive football to Stade de la Mosson.
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Team News
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Girona head coach Michel is expected to name a strong side for this match, with Van de Beek likely to feature in central midfield following his switch from Man United.
Aleix Garcia has been the club's most high-profile exit this summer, with the 27-year-old moving to Bayer Leverkusen, but the likes of Artem Dovbyk and Viktor Tsygankov, who both represented Ukraine at Euro 2024, remain with the club despite a host of speculation surrounding their futures.
Dovbyk scored 24 times during an excellent 2023-24 campaign and should lead the line for Girona on Saturday, while Portu and Daley Blind are expected to be among those to start here.
As for Montpellier, it is largely the same squad from last season, including Akor Adams, who was the leading goalscorer during the 2023-24 campaign with 10 goals.
Teji Savanier netted nine times in all competitions last term and should also be in the starting side on Saturday, while Mousa Tamari is also expected to be in the first XI.
Head coach Der Zakarian will make full use of his squad, though, and there are expected to be opportunities for a number of youngsters to make their mark this weekend.
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; A Martinez, Blind, D Lopez, Gutierrez; Herrera, Van de Beek, Martin; Portu, Dovbyk, Tsygankov
Montpellier HSC possible starting lineup:
Lecomte; Sylla, Sagnan, Kouyate, Jullien; Savanier, Ferri, Bares, Coulibaly; Adams, Delaye
We say: Girona 2-1 Montpellier HSC
This should be a competitive match, which is exactly what both managers will be after, and we are expecting it to be close in terms of the scoreline. Girona have the stronger squad, though, and the La Liga outfit should be able to navigate their way to a victory in their second pre-season match.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Girona win with a probability of 60.86%. A draw had a probability of 19.7% and a win for Montpellier HSC had a probability of 19.48%.
The most likely scoreline for a Girona win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.64%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.02%) and 3-1 (7.21%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.6%), while for a Montpellier HSC win it was 1-2 (5.17%). The actual scoreline of 3-3 was predicted with a 1.7% likelihood.
Matt Law
