Valencia vs Girona prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2022-08-13 17:30.
The revolving managerial door at Valencia swung around again in the summer when the club appointed Gennaro Gattuso to replace JosĂ© Bordalás – making him their seventh manager in just five years. That move came in response to Valencia’s underwhelming ninth-place La Liga (LL) finish, and it’ll be Gattuso’s task to beat that this year.
That’s unlikely to be easy given the club recorded significant losses across the past 12 months, a situation that has meant selling players has been a necessity, with star striker Gonçalo Guedes the latest to depart. That could come back to haunt them as the season progresses, yet in the immediate, Gattuso will hope his side’s strong recent opening day record can deliver his first three points as boss. Los Che have lost just one of their last six opening LL matches (W3, D2) all of which came at home.
Girona secured their return to LL after a three-year absence with a 3-1 play off victory over Tenerife. The step up in quality is always a daunting prospect for promoted sides, yet Girona’s unique relationship with City Football Group – who acquired a 44.3% share of the side in 2017 – means they’re going to benefit from getting a number of prospects on loan which should help them be more competitive.
Sure enough they’ve already brought in Yangel Herrera and Yan Couto from Manchester City, plus Taty Castellanos from New York City. Manager MĂchel will hope they can help improve his team’s recent faltering fortunes on the road, as Girona finished last season by winning just one of their last five regular season away league games (D1, L3), and could actually extend their longest losing away run in Spain’s top tier to six with another defeat here.
Players to watch: An opening day goal for Valencia’s Maxi GĂłmez would see him net in three straight LL games for the first time in his career, while veteran Christian Stuani is chasing a 41st goal in 66 LL appearances for Girona – he’s already their top scorer in the competition.
Hot stat: Gattuso will hope to become the eighth of Valencia’s last ten managers to avoid a LL defeat in his first game in charge (W5, D2).