Girona vs Real Sociedad prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-10-18 16:30.
[p]Girona will return to La Liga action after October’s international break with a spring in their step. After goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga heroically made a ‘hat trick’ of penalty saves, they eventually found a way to beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 last round thanks to a 99th minute winner which ironically came from the penalty spot. That victory snapped a prior six-match winless run across all competitions for the hosts (D2, L4) who look to be struggling with the extra workload of being in the UEFA Champions League proper for the first time. [/p]
[p]Confidence can be found when looking at Girona’s home La Liga form, in which they have lost just two of their last 19 league outings on home soil (W14, D3) as Estadi Montilivi remains a challenging venue to succeed at for visitors. The hosts’ free flowing goalscoring has been the main reason for that impressive string of results, netting 2.7 goals on average per match in that time![/p]
[p]Given their poor start to this season, Real Sociedad will be concerned that they could become the home side’s next victim, especially as they’ve won just two of their opening nine La Liga fixtures in 2024/25 (D3, L4). A serious lack of goalscoring has been responsible for that poor return, as the visitors have failed to score in four of those matches, a tally only Leganés and Valencia (both five) had exceeded at the start of the round.[/p]
[p]Whilst Sociedad fans could be dreading a return to action for their side, they do at least hold a strong H2H record against Girona. Not since 2010 have they been defeated by the Catalan side, with a subsequent eight-match unbeaten run offering hope of more success in this latest clash (W2, D6). [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Cristhian Stuani was the player who netted Girona’s winner in his last outing, which was his third off the bench in La Liga this season, whilst his four prior H2Hs goals have all seen his side avoid defeat (W1, D3). Four of Brais Méndez’s last five Sociedad goals have come on the road, and he scored in a 5-3 win during this exact fixture in the 2022/23 campaign. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Just three of Sociedad’s nine La Liga matches this season have seen both teams score – the joint-fewest in the competition. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Nathan Evans[/i][/p]