Girona vs Villarreal Preview: Team News & Prediction
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Girona are among the most entertaining teams to watch in Spain as the Catalans now welcome a strong but frustrating Villarreal side to Montilivi.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN have the exclusive rights to La Liga games in the USA, so any game may be televised on one of their affiliated channels
How to watch online: UK – Premier Player / Disney+ / US – ESPN+
Girona preview: Mid-table Girona
Girona began the season looking as though they may be involved in a relegation battle but the hosts are instead now heading into the run in looking up and towards the top seven and the possible European spots in La Liga.
The home team come into this one on the back of a slender 1-0 defeat to Osasuna, though, in their most recent outing with Croatia international striker scoring a late winner in that clash at El Sadar a couple of weeks ago.
Villarreal preview: Desire for entertainment
Villarreal, with former Olympique de Marseille boss Marcelino at the helm, sit tucked inside the top three and are set to qualify for the UEFA Champions League in successive seasons for the first time ever.
Some supporters of the Yellow Submarine are, though, a touch frustrated with the performances and the defensive-minded mentality of their coach and team, especially when they play away from home.
Girona team news: Key doubts
Girona are dealing with a couple of doubts for this one as Manchester City loanee Claudio Echeverri is potentially sidelined alongside club legend Cristhian Stuani.
Predicted XI (4-5-1): Paulo Gazzaniga; Hugo Rincon, Reis, Blind, Arnau Martinez; Tsygankov, Beltran, Witsel, Ounahi, Joel Roca; Vanat
Unavailable: Ter Stegen (Injured), Juan Carlos (Injured), Ricard Artero (Injured), Van de Beek (Injured), Bryan Gil (Injured), Portu (Injured)
Questionable: Echeverri (Injured), Cristhian Stuani (Injured)
Villarreal team news: Costa coming back
Ahead of potentially representing Cape Verde at their debut FIFA World Cup this summer, centre-back Logan Costa is close to coming back from a near year-long knee injury.
Predicted XI (4-4-2): Junior; Santiago Mourino, Pau Navarro, Veiga, Alfonso; Pepe, Santi Comesana, Gueye, Alberto Moleiro; Gerard, Mikautadze
Unavailable: Foyth (Injured), Pau Cabanes (Injured)
Questionable: Costa (Injured), Ayoze (Injured)
Girona vs Villarreal prediction
There is an onus and pressure on Villarreal to prove some doubters of their style wrong; especially with their goals for this season all but wrapped up as they sit comfortably tucked inside the UEFA Champions League spots. Given the possibility of them being drawn out and Girona's own attacking capabilities and desire, both teams scoring seems a good bet for this one on Monday night.
Girona vs Villarreal tip: Both teams to score
