Preview: Girona vs Barcelona - prediction, team news, lineups

Bidding to bounce back from a shock result in the Copa del Rey, Barcelona will resume their La Liga campaign with a clash against Catalan rivals Girona on Monday night.

Hansi Flick's side are top of the La Liga table, one point ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, while Girona occupy occupy 12th position in the division.

Match preview

Girona's recent resurgence has made a big difference to their league position, with Michel's side currently in 12th, boasting a record of six wins, eight draws and nine losses from their 23 league matches during the 2025-26 campaign.

The Catalan team have won four of their last eight in the league, losing just twice during that period, but it is still incredibly tight when it comes to the relegation battle, with just four points separating them from 18th-placed Rayo Vallecano.

Girona will enter this match off the back of a 1-1 draw with Sevilla, while they also drew 1-1 with Getafe in their last match on home soil at the end of January.

Michel's team have one of the poorest home records in La Liga this season, picking up only 13 points from 11 matches, recording just three wins in the process.

Barcelona, meanwhile, have the second-best away record in La Liga this term, with the reigning champions collecting 25 points from their 12 fixtures on their travels.

Flick's team have won their last three in La Liga and still sit top of the table, one point ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who will face Real Sociedad on Saturday night.

However, Barcelona will enter this match off the back of a shock result, suffering a 4-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Thursday night.

The Catalan giants were four goals behind at the interval and just could not recover, meaning that they have a mountain to climb if a spot in the final of the Copa del Rey is to be secured.

Barcelona's immediate focus is on La Liga, though, and they will be bidding to record a ninth win over Girona, who have only ever beaten their Catalan rivals twice.

Girona's last win over Barcelona was a 4-2 success in December 2023, but Flick's team have won their last three meetings, including a 2-1 win in the reverse game earlier this season.

Girona La Liga form:

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Barcelona La Liga form:

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Barcelona form (all competitions):

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Team News

Girona remain without the services of a number of first-team players through injury, with Juan Carlos (knee), Donny van de Beek (Achilles), Portu (knee), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (hamstring), Alex Moreno (muscle) and Ricard Artero (ankle) all confirmed to be out of the contest.

Meanwhile, Azzedine Ounahi (calf) is facing a late fitness test ahead of the Catalan derby.

Thomas Lemar was on the scoresheet against Sevilla last time out and will continue in the starting team, while Vladyslav Vanat will again lead the line for the home side.

As for Barcelona, Gavi (knee), Andreas Christensen (knee) and Pedri (hamstring) are still missing, while Raphinha (groin) and Marcus Rashford (knee) are regarded as major doubts.

Head coach Flick is likely to introduced Gerard Martin into his defensive unit for this match, with Eric Garcia expected to push into central midfield.

It is unlikely that either Raphinha or Rashford will be involved in this match, so Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez could both start, while Robert Lewandowski may be introduced in the final third of the field in place of Ferran Torres.

Girona possible starting lineup:

Gazzaniga; Rincon, Reis, Blind, Martinez; Beltran, Martin; Tsygankov, Lemar, Gil; Vanat

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martin, Balde; E Garcia, De Jong; Yamal, Olmo, Fermin; Lewandowski

We say: Girona 1-2 Barcelona

Girona are more than capable of making this a tough match for Barcelona, and we are expecting it to be close in terms of the scoreline, but the away side's additional quality should allow them to put an important three points on the board.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.