Real Sociedad will be bidding to make the perfect start to their 2023-24 La Liga campaign when they welcome Girona to Anoeta Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The home side finished fourth in Spain's top flight last term, securing a Champions League spot for the new campaign, while Girona also enjoyed a successful season, claiming 10th spot in the table.
Match preview
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Real Sociedad enjoyed an impressive 2022-23 campaign, claiming 71 points from their 38 league matches to secure fourth position in the table and a return to the Champions League for the new season.
The White and Blues finished in the top four for the first time in 10 years, and they will be expecting to claim a similar position in the coming season, but head coach Imanol Alguacil will be hoping for more new additions before the end of the transfer window.
The Basque outfit have added Andre Silva to their squad on loan from RB Leipzig, while Hamari Traore has arrived on a free transfer from Rennes; the club are also in discussions with Manchester United over a potential deal for Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek.
There have been a number of departures, meanwhile, with Portu, Ander Guevara, Asier Illarramendi and David Silva among those to move on, with the latter announcing his retirement.
Real Sociedad have played five friendlies this summer, and they will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 win over Real Betis in their last pre-season match on Sunday.
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Girona, meanwhile, played six friendlies during pre-season, including a 2-1 victory over Lazio last time out, which concluded their preparations for the new campaign.
The White and Reds finished 10th in Spain's top flight last season on their return to the top level, which proved to be their joint-highest spot in the top division, having also claimed 10th in 2017-18.
Girona have been very active this summer in terms of incomings, with Artem Dovbyk, Yangel Herrera and Ivan Martin among those to arrive, while Daley Blind has joined on a free transfer, and Pablo Torre has been brought in on loan from Barcelona for the new campaign.
Michel's side have a tough start to the season, facing Real Sociedad and Sevilla in two of their opening three matches, while their first home game of the campaign will be against Getafe on August 20.
Girona are preparing for just the fourth campaign in La Liga, and although they claimed a top-half position last term, their main focus will once again be avoiding relegation to the Segunda Division.
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Team News
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Real Sociedad will be without the services of Martin Merquelanz due to a knee injury, with the attacker not expected to be back on the field until the end of the month.
The home side are otherwise in good shape, and there are expected to be two debuts on Saturday, with Traore in line to start at right-back and Andre Silva at centre-forward.
There are not expected to be any real surprises when it comes to the Real Sociedad XI, with the likes of Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Oyarzabal set to feature from the first whistle.
Girona, meanwhile, will be missing Ricard Artero and Toni Villa due to injury; Bernardo Espinosa is also out for the away side through suspension.
There are likely to be a number of new faces in the Girona XI for this match, with Dovbyk, Herrera, Martin, Blind, Paulo Gazzaniga and Torre all set to start on Saturday.
Borja Garcia and Aleix Garcia should also be in the side, while Arnau Martinez and David Lopez could feature at the back for Michel's team.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Traore, Le Normand, Gorosabel, Rico; Merino, Mendez, Zubimendi; Oyarzabal, A Silva, Sadiq
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Martinez, Blind, D Lopez, Espinosa; Torre, Herrera, B Garcia; Martin, Dovbyk, A Garcia
We say: Real Sociedad 2-1 Girona
Girona deserve a lot of respect for their performance last season, and they are more than capable of picking up a positive result in this match. Real Sociedad are the favourites, though, and we are expecting the Basque outfit to secure all three points in their division opener.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
