Sevilla will be bidding to make it three straight wins in all competitions when they continue their La Liga campaign away to Girona on Saturday afternoon.
Jorge Sampaoli's side will enter the match off the back of a 2-1 victory over Getafe, while Girona played out a 2-2 draw with Espanyol in their last league fixture.
Match preview
© Reuters
Girona secured a return to La Liga through last season's Segunda Division playoffs, and they are playing in a La Liga campaign for just the third time in their history.
The White and Reds will be pleased with their season thus far, having won four, drawn six and lost six of their 16 matches to collect 18 points, which has left them in 12th position in the table.
Girona are only three points clear of 18th-placed Cadiz, though, which is an indication of how quickly things could change in Spain's top flight, so there is no downplaying the importance of this match.
Michel's side are actually unbeaten in their last six La Liga matches, including wins over Athletic Bilbao and Elche, but they have drawn their last two against Rayo Vallecano and Espanyol.
Girona recorded a 1-0 victory over Sevilla in the corresponding match during the 2018-19 campaign, but they have lost three of their last four matches with the Seville outfit in Spain's top flight.
© Reuters
Sevilla, meanwhile, will enter this contest off the back of a morale-boosting 2-1 victory over Getafe last weekend, with Marcos Acuna and Rafa Mir on the scoresheet for the home side at Estadio Ramon.
The victory was their first in the league since the middle of October, and it moved them out of the relegation zone, with Sampaoli's team sitting 17th in the table, level on points with 18th-placed Cadiz.
There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a hugely disappointing season for Sevilla, who are a club used to finishing in the top four of late, but this season, they are battling towards the bottom of the division.
Los Nervionenses, who have been fourth in each of the last three La Liga campaigns, have also progressed in the Copa del Rey, recording a 5-0 victory over Linares Deportivo on January 4.
Sevilla will face Alaves in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey on January 17, while they will also take on Girona, Cadiz and Elche in Spain's top flight before the end of the month.
Team News
© Reuters
Girona will have Oriol Romeu back from suspension for this match, but Juanpe, Reinier and Javi Hernandez remain on the sidelines through injury.
Ibrahima Kebe is also a major doubt with a knee injury, while Valentin Castellanos is suspended following his yellow card in the 2-2 draw with Espanyol last time out.
Cristhian Stuani is likely to be given the nod in the final third as Castellanos's replacement, while Yangel Herrera is also expected to come into the starting XI this weekend.
As for Sevilla, a lengthy injury list includes Thomas Delaney, Papu Gomez, Alex Telles, Marcao, Jesus Manuel Corona and Karim Rekik.
However, the visitors will be boosted by the returns of Gonzalo Montiel and Jose Angel Carmona, who were both suspended against Getafe last time out.
There are not expected to be any major surprises in the Sevilla XI for this match, with Erik Lamela, Ivan Rakitic and Oliver Torres set to retain their spots, while Youssef En-Nesyri should again lead the line.
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Martinez, Bueno, Lopez, Gutierrez; Romeu; Villa, Garcia, Herrera, Couto; Stuani
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Navas, Fernando, Nianzou, Acuna; Gudelj, Rakitic; Jordan, Torres, Lamela; En-Nesyri
We say: Girona 1-1 Sevilla
Sevilla are far too good to be struggling towards the bottom of the table, and they should be able to rise up the division in the coming weeks. Girona have only lost twice at home in the league this term, though, so we have had to settle on a low-scoring draw on Saturday afternoon.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
