Girona vs. Liverpool: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

It's hard to see anything other than an away win here. Girona have been poor in the Champions League, suffering defeats to Feyenoord, PSV and Sturm Graz, while Liverpool have passed test after test in this competition this season.

The Reds have kept three clean sheets in their last five games and with Girona having failed to score in three of their last four outings, they'll fancy their chances of another one here.

Liverpool are currently amidst a 17-match unbeaten run and the chances are they'll continue that here. Girona 0-2 Liverpool.

Liverpool’s season takes another turn this week as they head to Spain for a Champions League clash with Girona.

• Date: 10/12/2024
• Kick-off time: 17:45
• Location: Estadi Montilivi, Girona

Girona currently sit 8th in La Liga with 22 points from 16 games and 30th in the Champions League with 3 points from 5 games. Following what was a euphoric campaign filled with unprecedented and unexpected achievements, Girona have, expectedly, very much come back down to Earth this season. The Catalan club finished 3rd in La Liga last season and spent a good number of weeks top of the table, but in the summer, as is always the case when a small club overachieves, their squad was utterly decimated, leaving them with the task of putting an almost entirely new team together.

Girona are still a decent side, but they’re miles off where they were last season and given the difficulty of their remaining fixtures, they’ll probably be knocked out of this competition at the group stage. Míchel’s team will be quite disappointed with their showing in the Champions League, with a defeat against Austrian side Strum Graz, a 4-0 hammering away at PSV Eindhoven and a 2-3 loss at home to Feyenoord a trio of results they’ll probably deem extremely disappointing.

Now, Girona take on Liverpool, AC Milan and Arsenal in their final three games, so it feels highly likely that these will be their last three Champions League games for quite some time, and possibly forever. Nevertheless, that’s not a reason for sombreness; Girona were never, ever expected to reach this level, and the fact they’re even competing here is a cause for celebration. If they can pull off an upset against the six-time winners of this competition, it’ll be one of the club’s greatest-ever moments.

Liverpool’s season has been nothing short of excellent thus far. The Reds currently sit top of the Premier League table and top of the Champions League table - not bad, eh? The first few months of this campaign have been beyond anything new manager Arne Slot could have expected, and if they can sustain their current level, which is a huge ask, they could be in for a historic season.

Traditional stalwarts of the Reds’ trophy-winning campaigns under Jürgen Klopp - the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah - are enjoying vintage campaigns so far this season, while all of Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones, Luis Díaz and Cody Gakpo are playing fantastic football.

Everything seems to be going right for Liverpool and Slot so far, but there is no doubt that, at some stage, adversity will come, and how they respond to that will essentially define their season. There is some concern over their defensive depth, with any injuries that might occur to either Van Dijk or Ibrahima Konaté having season-derailing potential given the replacements are of a notably lower level, but given just how good Liverpool’s first half of the season has been, there is probably a good chance that the Reds reinforce their squad in January.

Given how few of the traditional heavyweights in Europe are at their peak this season, there is a clear path for somewhat to grab this trophy by the scruff of the neck and make it theirs. Right now, Liverpool look like the most likely candidate to do that, but we’ll see where their level is come March.

This game will be televised live to all subscribed UK viewers on TNT Sports 1.

Girona Team News:

Girona come into this game without the services of Jhon Solis, Viktor Tsigankov and Yangel Herrera, all of whom are out injured.

Changes will likely be made following a heavy defeat to Real Madrid at the weekend, with the likes of Daley Blind, Arnaut Danjuma and Abel Ruiz all hoping to come into the starting XI.

Predicted lineup: Gazzaniga; Martínez, López, Krejčí, Gutiérrez; Martin, Romeu; Asprilla, Van de Beek, Danjuma; Ruiz.

Liverpool Team News:

The Reds have a lengthy absentee list coming into this one, with Ibrahima Konaté, Alisson Becker, Conor Bradley, Diogo Jota, Federico Chiesa and Kostas Tsimikas all in the treatment room.

Alexis Mac Allister will also be unavailable due to suspension, so Curtis Jones will start in the midfield.

Predicted lineup: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Jones, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Díaz; Gakpo.

Girona are heading into this game woefully out of form, with just one win in their last five. At the weekend, the Catalans were heavily beaten 0-3 by the visiting Real Madrid, a result that followed an egregious penalty shootout defeat to UD Logroñés, who play their trade in Spain's fourth tier, in the Copa del Rey.

Prior to that, goals from Donny van de Beek and Ladislav Krejčí saw them come back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Villarreal, which came after a poor 1-0 loss to Strum Graz in this competition.

Those results followed a 4-1 win over Espanyol, with Bryan Gil, Bojan Miovski and Krejčí getting on the scoresheet.

Liverpool's last five matches have seen them record four wins and one draw. The Reds played out a barnstormer in the North East last week as they drew 3-3 with Newcastle United, with Liverpool's goals coming from Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah (X2).

Prior to that, Cody Gakpo and Salah gave Slot's men a 2-0 win over Manchester City, a result that preceded a 2-0 win over Real Madrid, where Alexis Mac Allister and Gakpo grabbed the goals.

Liverpool also ran out 3-2 winners away at Southampton thanks to Dominik Szoboszlai and a Mohamed Salah brace, which followed a 2-0 win over Aston Villa, courtesy of Salah and Darwin Núñez.

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