Girona will continue their battle to secure a European finish in La Liga with a trip to a struggling and out-of-form Celta Vigo outfit on Tuesday night.
The visitors are currently eighth in the table, two points behind seventh-placed Athletic Bilbao, while Celta sit 14th in the table, only four points ahead of the relegation zone with three games left.
Match preview
© Reuters
Celta suffered their fourth straight league defeat on Saturday, going down 2-1 at Athletic Bilbao, with Alex Berenguer scoring the game's decisive goal in the early stages of the second period.
The Sky Blues are not yet safe from the threat of relegation, currently sitting 14th in the table, just four points above the bottom three with three games left.
Celta have not been victorious in Spain's top flight since the end of April, losing each of their last four against Villarreal, Getafe, Valencia and Athletic to slide down the table.
Carlos Carvalhal's side have a huge game away to fellow strugglers Cadiz next Sunday before finishing their season at home to the champions Barcelona on June 4, and they will not want to enter the clash with Xavi's side needing to pick up a positive result to secure survival.
Celta, who have not played outside of Spain's top flight since 2012, actually have the third-worst home record in La Liga this season, only picking up 23 points from 17 matches.
© Reuters
Girona, meanwhile, are firmly in the mix for a European finish in Spain's top flight, currently sitting eighth in the table, just two points behind seventh-placed Athletic Bilbao in a battle for a position in the playoff round of the Europa Conference League.
The White and Reds earned promotion to the top flight through last season's Segunda Division playoffs, and they have never finished higher than 10th in La Liga, so the team are chasing history this season.
Michel's side won three straight matches against Real Madrid, Sevilla and Mallorca between April 25 and May 4, before drawing 2-2 with Real Sociedad, but they will enter this game off the back of a 2-1 loss to Villarreal.
Girona have two difficult games to finish the season, meanwhile, hosting Real Betis next Sunday before travelling to Osasuna on June 4.
The Catalan outfit have enjoyed a brilliant campaign regardless of whether they can finish seventh, but they have lost their last two top-flight matches against Celta, including a 1-0 defeat in the reverse match earlier this season.
- L
- W
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- D
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Celta are again expected to be without the services of both Iago Aspas and Agustin Marchesin through injury, but Renato Tapia is available after serving a suspension against Athletic.
Fran Beltran had to be substituted in the first half of Saturday's game through injury, and the midfielder is set to miss out here, so Gabri Veiga is likely to drop back into a deeper position.
Haris Seferovic was an injury doubt against Athletic but featured off the bench in the second period, and the forward could now return to the starting XI for Tuesday's game.
As for Girona, Oriol Romeu will return to the squad after missing out against Villarreal through suspension, but Aleix Garcia, Borja Garcia, Toni Villa and Ibrahima Kebe are still on the sidelines through injury.
Head coach Michel will have been pleased with his side's overall performance against Villarreal, who secured all three points in the 94th minute, so the majority of players that took to the field for the first whistle of that match should continue in the XI here.
Valentin Castellanos has scored 13 league goals this season and will again feature in the final third of the field, with Yan Couto and Rodrigo Riquelme set to play in the wide positions.
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Villar; Vazquez, Aidoo, Nunez, Galan; Rodriguez, Veiga; Perez, Cervi; Seferovic, Larsen
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; A Martinez, Bueno, Juanpe, Gutierrez; Romeu, D Lopez; Couto, Tsygankov, Riquelme; Castellanos
We say: Celta Vigo 1-1 Girona
Girona have had an excellent season, but they have only won three of their 17 away league games this season, so it is difficult to back them to win with any real confidence, even against a struggling Celta side. The hosts will be desperate to avoid defeat on Tuesday, which could create a cagey match, and we are expecting the points to be shared here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.