Girona and Getafe will both be looking to build on solid draws in their opening matches of the new La Liga season when they lock horns at Estadi Montilivi on Sunday evening.
The home side claimed a point in a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad last time out, while Getafe started their 2023-24 campaign with a goalless draw at home to the champions Barcelona.
Match preview
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Girona enjoyed their joint-best campaign in La Liga last season, finishing 10th in the table, picking up 49 points from their 38 matches, just four points behind seventh-placed Osasuna.
The White and Reds will be eyeing a similar spot this term, and they can take plenty of encouragement from their result on the opening weekend of the new season, coming from behind to draw 1-1 at Real Sociedad, with new signing Artem Dovbyk netting the equaliser in the 72nd minute.
Michel's side have been active this summer in terms of incomings, with Yangel Herrera, Ivan Martin, Daley Blind, Paulo Gazzaniga, Savio and Pablo Torre arriving at the club alongside Dovbyk.
Oriol Romeu has been their major departure, returning to Barcelona, while Ramon Terrats has joined Villarreal, but the club have been able to keep the bulk of their important players from last season.
Girona have only actually won one of their last five La Liga matches against Getafe, which proved to be a 3-1 success in the corresponding fixture last season.
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Getafe will have taken huge confidence from their result last Sunday, having held the champions Barcelona to a goalless draw; Raphinha received his marching orders in the 42nd minute of that match, and the hosts then lost Jaime Mata to a red card just before the hour.
Jose Bordalas's side have finished 15th in each of their last three La Liga campaigns, which is disappointing considering that they were eighth twice and fifth between 2018 and 2020.
Getafe's summer transfer activity suggests that they should be looking up the table this season, as the club have managed to make seven new signings, including Omar Alderete, Gaston Alvarez and Portu, who have joined on permanent deals following loan spells.
Choco Lozano and Sergi Altimira have also arrived, while Jose Angel Carmona and Daniel Fuzato have joined on loan for the 2023-24 campaign.
Getafe will be aiming to improve on their away form this season, as they only managed to win three of their 19 league games on their travels during an underwhelming 2022-23 campaign.
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Team News
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Girona were without four players through injury against Real Sociedad, with Borja Garcia, Toni Villa, Santiago Bueno and Ibrahima Kebe out of action, and all four are set to miss out once again.
Dovbyk's goal off the bench on his debut could see the forward come into the starting side, while Valery is also expected to be introduced in a wide position.
Torre, who is on loan from Barcelona, is also pushing to start, but it seems likely that the midfielder will again feature among the substitutes for the first whistle.
Getafe, meanwhile, will be missing Mata following his red card against Barcelona, which is expected to lead to Portu being introduced into the starting side.
The visitors will also be without the services of four players through injury, with Carmona, Luis Milla, Mauro Arambarri and Enes Unal on the sidelines.
Head coach Bordalas could ultimately make just the one change to the side that started against Barcelona, with Carles Alena and Juanmi Latasa set to be among those to retain their spots.
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Martinez, D Lopez, Blind, Gutierrez; Valery, Herrera, A Garcia, Tsygankov, Couto; Dovbyk
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Suarez, Duarte, Mitrovic, Alvarez; Iglesias, Alena, Dakonam, Maksimovic, Portu; Latasa
We say: Girona 1-1 Getafe
Both teams would have taken confidence from their results against strong teams on the opening weekend of the new season, and we are expecting a close match on Sunday. A case can be made for both sides to win it, but we are struggling to separate them on this occasion.
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