Girona will head to an out-of-form Las Palmas outfit in La Liga on Saturday afternoon knowing that a victory would see them move above Barcelona and into second position in the table.
The visitors are having a remarkable campaign, with a spot in next season's Champions League close to being secured, while Las Palmas sit in 13th position, 12 points above the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Las Palmas' work in the first half of the season is expected to keep them in Spain's top flight for the 2024-25 campaign, with the team seemingly having enough credit in the bank, which is fortunate considering their struggles for results over the last couple of months.
Indeed, Garcia Pimienta's side will enter this match off the back of five straight losses in La Liga, including a 4-1 defeat to Celta Vigo last weekend.
Los Amarillos have not been victorious in the league since February 10, collecting only two points from their last eight matches, but it does appear that they will be making it back-to-back seasons in Spain's top flight.
Pio Pio are 13th in the table on 37 points, 12 points ahead of the relegation zone, so unless something extraordinary happens over the next few weeks, survival will have been secured, which was their main goal following promotion from the Segunda Division last season.
Las Palmas have been relatively solid at home this term, picking up 22 points from their 16 matches in front of their own fans, and Girona are on a five-game losing run on their travels.
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Girona's home form this season is the third-best in La Liga, picking up 41 points from their 16 matches, which is just three fewer than Real Madrid have collected at Bernabeu.
The Catalan outfit were 4-1 winners over Cadiz on home soil last time out, but they are having a tough time on their travels, suffering five straight losses to Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Mallorca, Getafe and Atletico Madrid.
Michel's side have won just once in the league away from home this year, which came at the end of January, and they will have to overcome that in order to move into second spot in the table on Saturday, with the team currently third, two points behind second-placed Barcelona.
Girona were unable to keep pace with Real Madrid in terms of the title race, but they are 10 points clear of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao with six games left, and it would be a remarkable achievement if a Champions League position for the 2024-25 campaign was secured.
The White and Reds are only in their fourth-ever season at this level, with their highest finish proving to be 10th, so it will be a historic campaign for the club one way or another.
Team News
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Las Palmas will again be without the services of on-loan Barcelona defender Julian Araujo due to a hamstring problem, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape in terms of their squad.
There will be returns for Marvin Park and Saul Coco, with the pair suspended against Celta last time out, while Sandro Ramirez could be reintroduced in the final third of the field.
Park and Munir El Haddadi could be the two wide players for the home side on Saturday, while Juanma Herzog is expected to drop out to allow Coco to return despite finding the back of the net against Celta.
As for Girona, Joel Roca remains a long-term absentee due to a serious knee injury.
Yangel Herrera, Viktor Tsyhankov, Cristhian Stuani and Ricard Artero are also doubts, so there could be a start in the middle of midfield for Jhon Solis.
Artem Dovbyk has had an impressive first season in La Liga football, finding the back of the net on 18 occasions, and he will continue in the final third of the field.
Portu scored off the bench against Cadiz last time out but might have to settle for a spot among the substitutes for the first whistle once again.
Las Palmas possible starting lineup:
Valles; Suarez, Coco, Marmol, S Cardona; Park, Munoz, Perrone, K Rodriguez, Munir; Sandro
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; E Garcia, D Lopez, Blind, Gutierrez; Solis, A Garcia; Couto, Martin, Savio; Dovbyk
We say: Las Palmas 1-2 Girona
Girona's poor run of away form will end at some stage, and we are backing that to be this weekend. Las Palmas have lost their way over the last few weeks, and we are expecting a fired-up Girona outfit to navigate their way to a hugely-important three points on Saturday afternoon.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
