Monday’s La Liga Offering Sees Faltering Title Hopefuls Visit Champions League Chasers
Athletic Bilbao vs Girona FC - 19/02/2024
Marta Fernandez Jimenez / Shutterstock.com
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It’s second against fifth in La Liga on Monday night, as high-flying Girona travel to the Basque Country to take on Athletic Bilbao.
Girona, this season’s surprise package in Spain, have kept pace with Real Madrid throughout the campaign. But they now sit five points behind the league leaders.
As for the hosts, they find themselves fifth in the table – eight points clear of sixth-placed Real Betis and 10 points behind Monday’s opponents.
Athletic Bilbao were held to a goalless draw by bottom club Almeria last time out, despite racking up 62% possession and 12 shots at the Estadio Mediterraneo.
Still, the Basque outfit remain unbeaten in five matches across all competitions, having defeated Barcelona (4-2), Mallorca (4-0) and Atletico Madrid (1-0).
When you look at the bigger picture, Athletic have lost just one of their last 20 matches, picking up 14 victories in the process.
Not only have Bilbao kept a clean sheet in each of their last four games, but they have also achieved 11 shutouts in their previous 15, underlining their defensive strength.
Meanwhile, Girona suffered a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of title rivals Real Madrid last weekend, failing to register a single shot on target during the match.
Following a mammoth 17-game unbeaten streak between October and January, Girona have now won just one of their last four games across all competitions.
That said, the Catalan outfit have suffered a measly two defeats in 24 La Liga encounters this season, securing no fewer than 17 wins along the way.
It is also worth remembering that no team has scored more goals than Girona this term, with the surprise package averaging 2.2 goals per game in the league.
Head-to-head: In the reverse fixture back in November, Athletic Bilbao and Girona played out a 1-1 draw, with the hosts dominating possession.
Thanks to that draw, Girona are unbeaten in their previous three La Liga meetings with Athletic, as they did the double over the Basque side last season.
Team news: Athletic Bilbao will have to make do without the injured duo of Gorka Guruzeta (thigh) and Nico Williams (muscle) for the foreseeable future.
As for Girona, their injury list features Antonino Jastin (ankle), David Lopez (muscle), Joel Roca (knee) and Toni Villa (knee).
Monday’s showdown is destined to be an intriguing battle between two ambitious teams, with both sides pushing for Champions League football.
Forebet’s algorithm predicts that Girona will return to winning ways, scoring over 1.5 goals on their way to defeating a stubborn Athletic outfit.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
Es1
313336
2
1 - 2
2.79
12°
3.50
2.05
3.50
3.50
no
no
no
3 - 2(1 - 0)
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