Girona go head-to-head against Osasuna on Thursday. Read our Predictions and Betting Tips with Match Preview, Head-to-head stats (h2h) and Team Form Analysis.
La Liga, KO: 18:00 Aug 29, 2024, Estadi Montilivi
Our prediction for this Primera Division match:
Following a 3-0 loss to Atletico Madrid, Girona will look to give fans some cheer when they take on Osasuna on Thursday evening. New Man City winger Savinho has been sorely missed in the new La Liga campaign as well as top scorer Artem Dovbyk, but Girona’s performance in the defeat to los Rojiblancos was anything but poor. The Catalans have a nice chance to record their first win of the season, but they will have to prove their worth on the field. Both Jastin Garcia and Ricard Artero are sidelined with injuries.
Los Rojillos, on the other hand, defeated Mallorca thanks to Ruben Garcia’s goal, but given their difficulties on the road, we are tempted to bet on Girona this time out. Osasuna midfielder Iker Munoz limped off with injury at the weekend, with Moi Gomez pushing for a recall to the starting XI.
How the bookies view it: Girona go in as favourites
Despite their poor start to the season, Girona are still being backed by the bookies for this one. JILIMACAO have priced the Girona win at 8/11 while Osasuna are considered as rank outsiders at 18/5. The draw, which would certainly be a better result for the visitors, has been priced at 11/4.
Recent head-to-head: Advantage Girona
Girona will perhaps be feeling a little fragile after failing to win their opening two matches of the new season but they should take solace from their record against Osasuna. Out of the last five matches between the two teams, Girona have won three of them, drawn one and lost one.
The last time that Osasuna managed to win a match away against Girona was back in 2016 when both clubs were still playing in the second tier of Spanish football.
Players to watch: Can Ruiz get off the mark?
Abel Ruiz has a lot of pressure on his shoulders this summer as he looks to replace the goals scored by Artem Dovbyk at Girona last season. The Ukrainian scored 24 goals for the clubs last season but has left to join Roma this summer and Ruiz is seen as his direct replacement following his signing from Braga.
Ruiz has never been the most prolific of goalscorers with his best league tally to date being the eight he scored for Braga in 2022/23. Despite that, Girona’s hierarchy obviously saw something in him but he is going to need to get on the scoresheet soon to silence the detractors. Could he break his duck for his new club on Thursday?
Osasuna’s man to watch is Ante Budimir. The 33-year-old striker has been the club’s main man up front for the past four years and netted an impressive 17 goals in La Liga last season. Budimir is also looking to get off the mark this season and will fancy his chances on Thursday given the current fragility of the Girona squad.
Predicted line-ups
Both clubs are dealing with injury problems ahead of this one. Girona are without Ricard Artero and Jastin due to ankle and shoulder issues while Osasuna are without Ruben Pena, Kirke Barja and Iker Munoz due to various muscle problems.
Girona: Gazzaniga – Martinez, Lopez, Blind, Gutierrez – Romeu, Herrera, Martin – Tsygankov, Portu, Miovski
Osasuna: Herrera – Areso, Catena, Herrando, Cruz – Ibanez, Torro – Gomez, Oroz, Zaragoza – Budimir
Girona vs Osasuna Prediction
The home form of Girona looks better of late. They were unbeaten in 16 of the last 18 home outings and has won 14 in that period. Furthermore, Girona netted 28 goals in their last 10 home matches while allowing 10.
On the other side, Osasuna was unbeaten on three of their last five road trips. The team has scored in their last five road trips in a row. By the looks of things, we like to start with Girona to win and both teams to score tip for this match. However, the impressive goal trend of both inclines us to back the over 2.5 goals option.
The goal trend of Girona at home with their decent form in the h2h, we expect them to net 2 goals here. Since we have an offensive line scoring goals at a rate of one per game on the road, a 2-1 win in favor of the home side seems to be an ideal pick to back.
