Preview: San Roque de Lepe vs. Girona - prediction, team news, lineups

High-flying Girona will begin their Copa del Rey campaign with a trip to Andalusia for Wednesday's first-round tie against San Roque de Lepe.

The hosts, who play their league football in the fourth tier, will be looking to become the second team this season to beat Girona.

Match preview

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San Roque de Lepe are making their third consecutive appearance in the main draw of the Copa del Rey after reaching the semi-finals of the Copa Federacion de Espana.

They negotiated ties against Ciudad de Murcia, Villafrance and Torre del Mar to book their place in the last four and a spot in the Copa del Rey.

In the 2021-22 edition of the Copa del Rey, San Roque were easily beaten 3-0 by second-tier Mirandes, but they managed to put up a greater fight in last season's first-round tie against La Liga side Getafe.

They netted a stoppage-time equaliser to take their top-flight opponents to extra time before a 99th-minute Borja Mayoral effort ultimately condemned them to a 3-2 defeat.

While they will be looking forward to another Copa del Rey outing, San Roque de Lepe have found it tough going in Group 4 of the Segunda Division RFEF, having won just one of their nine league matches (D4, L4), leaving them in the automatic relegation places.

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Girona are currently exceeding all expectations in their second straight La Liga campaign, after winning nine of their 11 matches to sit level on points with league leaders Real Madrid, who are the only team to have beaten Michel's side this season.

Since losing 3-0 to Los Blancos at the end of September, Girona have put together a three-game winning run, which began with a narrow 1-0 away win over Cadiz.

The Blanquivermells then produced an impressive fightback to come from two goals down to beat Granada 5-2, before they edged out Celta Vigo on Friday courtesy of Yangel Herrera's stoppage-time winner.

After playing consecutive home games, Girona will now head on their travels for Wednesday's cup tie, where they will be looking to maintain their unbeaten away record for the 2023-24 campaign.

The last time that the visitors suffered a first-round exit in the Copa del Rey was in the 2006-07 season when as a fourth-tier side, they were thrashed 4-0 by Orihuela.

Team News

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Having scored five goals in 12 competitive appearances this season, Mohamed Mizzian will lead the line for the hosts in the midweek cup tie.

Sergio Garcia may have to settle for a place among the substitutes despite coming off the bench to score a late consolation in Saturday's defeat to Cadiz B.

As for Girona, they are having to contend with a lengthy injury list, which includes Eric Garcia, Valery, Juan Carlos, Joel Roca, Ricard Artero, Toni Villa and Borja Garcia.

After being forced off in first-half stoppage time against Celta, defender David Lopez is also expected to miss Wednesday's cup tie.

With Michel set to rotate his side, the likes of Toni Fuidias, Juanpe, Ibrahima Kebe, Pablo Torre and Portu could all be given starting opportunities.

San Roque de Lepe possible starting lineup:

Romero; Robles, A. Lopez, Aguilar, Rueda, Avila; Cornejo, Bautista, F. Lopez, Barroso; Mizzian

Girona possible starting lineup:

Fuidias; Martinez, Bernardo, Juanpe, Gutierrez; Portu, Solis, Kebe, Torre, Tsygankov; Stuani

We say: San Roque de Lepe 1-4 Girona

Girona are currently one of the best sides in Spain's top flight, and as La Liga's joint-highest scorers, we think that their firepower will help them ease to a comfortable cup victory over lower-league opposition on Wednesday.

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