Girona vs Mallorca prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-09-22 12:00.
The promise that Girona showed in parts last season, such as taking points on three separate occasions from El Clásico giants Real Madrid (4-2, 1-1) and Barcelona (0-0), has been boosted further by long-term manager MĂchel leading the team into their best five-game start to a league season since returning to the top-two tiers of the Spanish pyramid in 2008.
It was only Madrid and Barça ahead of them after the previous round, so if they can further extend what now stands as their longest winning streak in La Liga (LL) history, sealed by what MĂchel described as “the best first half since I have been here” in a 4-2 win over Granada, then their round eight clash with Real Madrid could prove to be a top-of-the-table affair! MĂchel was keen to taper expectations, insisting “people deserve to be happy and euphoric” but he was also quick to emphasise that there is still “a long way to go.”
Despite being promoted back to LL one season prior to Girona, and finishing one point higher in 2022/23, Mallorca have not been able to continue their desired progression. They failed to win their opening four games (D2, L2), most of which were against clubs joining them in the bottom half of the standings, but they’ll be hoping their 1-0 win at Celta Vigo last weekend defibrillates their campaign.
Their head coach Javier Aguirre was not satisfied with the performance, attributing the win to some luck that had “abandoned” his side in their first four games of the season, such as Celta striking the woodwork twice with their 16 shot attempts. One key area of their game that Aguirre is expecting to improve is the chemistry between new recruit Sergi Darder and striker Vedat Muriqi, who are yet to combine for a goal this LL season.
Key battle: Girona midfielder Yangel Herrera is the only one of their nine goal scorers for this LL season to have struck in separate matches. Hoping to keep him quiet is Mallorca defender Pablo Maffeo, who might have some inside knowledge after representing Girona on almost 100 occasions
Hot stat: Competitive clashes between these sides average just 1.4 total goals per game, with the most recent (2-1 to Girona) the only of the 12 H2Hs to see more than 2.5 goals!