Second-placed Girona will have to secure all three points against Getafe if they want to keep themselves alive in the La Liga title race.
Getafe will look to end their four-match winless run in the league when they host surprise title challengers Girona, who have been a bit inconsistent in the recent past and will be eager to build on their recent win.
The home team have no threat of relegation at this stage as they are 13 points clear of the drop zone. They are currently 12th with 35 points out of their 28 matches and will look to ensure they finish as high as possible.
Getafe are heading into this fixture on the back of a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Valencia. Despite creating more chances, they had nothing to show for it. The home team will have to put up a much better performance in the final third against Girona to stand a chance.
Meanwhile, Girona still have an outside chance of winning the league despite being seven points behind league leaders Real Madrid with just ten games to go. But, to ensure they remain in the thick of things, they will have to make sure they do not drop any more points.
They have lost three out of their last five league games, and those defeats have made things difficult for them in terms of the race for the title. But, Girona are heading into this fixture on the back of a 2-0 win over Osasuna. It was a clinical performance, and they will hope for more of the same against Getafe. Meanwhile, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could put to use.
Team News & Tactics
Getafe
The home team will be without the services of Omar Alderete, Borja Mayoral, and Mauro Arambarri. Meanwhile, they do have a boost as Mason Greenwood is back after serving a suspension last time out.
Getafe will line up in a 4-4-2 formation, where David Soria will be in goal. Juan Iglesias and Gaston Alvarez will be the full-backs, while Diego Rico will feature alongside Djene Dakonam in the heart of the defence in the absence of Alderete.
Carles Alena and Jaime Mata will feature on the flanks. They will provide width to their attacks, while Luis Milla and Ilaix Moriba will feature in a more central role. The duo will look to ensure the opposition does not end up dominating the ball. With Mayoral out injured, Mason Greenwood will start up top alongside Juanmi Latasa.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Soria; Iglesias, Dakonam, Rico, Alvarez; Alena, Milla, Moriba, Mata; Greenwood, Latasa
Girona
The visitors will be without the services of Borja Garcia, Viktor Tsyhankov, Yangel Herrera, Ricard Artero, Joel Roca, and Toni Villa.
Girona will go ahead with the 3-4-3 formation, where Paulo Gazzaniga will be in goal. The back three will consist of Eric Garcia, Daley Blind, and David Lopez. They will look for a clean sheet and will have the support of Yan Couto and Miguel Gutierrez, who will feature as the wing-backs.
Couto will start in place of Tsyhankov who picked up an injury in their last outing. Aleix Garcia and Ivan Martin will be the two central midfielders. The duo will look to control the tempo of the game and ensure they dominate the possession. In attack, Savio and Portu will provide the width as they will feature on the flanks. Meanwhile, the highly sought-after Artem Dovbyk will lead the line.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Gazzaniga; Eric Garcia, David Lopez, Blind; Couto, Aleix Garcia, Martin, Gutierrez; Portu, Dovbyk, Savio
Key Stats
- Girona have won five out of their last 13 matches against Getafe who have four wins to their name.
- Getafe have lost two out of their last three games against Girona.
- The home team have won three out of their five games on their own turf against Girona in all competitions.
- Girona have only won one out of their last eight away matches against Madrid-based teams in the league.
- The second-placed team have lost three away matches this term.
Player to Watch
Artem Dovbyk
The Ukrainian striker has been on fire since joining Girona ahead of the ongoing season. Dovbyk has featured in 26 league games this term. He has found the back of the net on 14 occasions and also has five assists to his name.
Prediction
Getafe 1-2 Girona
Girona might have endured a poor run in the recent past, but they still have a lot more quality in their ranks than Getafe. As a result, one would expect the second-placed team to dominate the proceedings in this fixture.
They are heading into it on the back of a 2-0 win and are favourites to come out on top here. The home team will give it their all but in the end, Girona might still win by the smallest of margins. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for the visitors.
