Valencia vs Girona prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-05-18 17:00.
[p]Valencia will now miss out on a fifth consecutive European journey after a fourth loss from five La Liga games, this time 1-0 away to Real Sociedad, left them eight points short of the top seven with two rounds to be played. A reflective head coach RubĂ©n Baraja all but conceded his team donât deserve to be playing continental football next season after being outclassed in recent weeks by three clubs who are likely or certain to be in European competitions in 2024/25.[/p]
[p]Baraja canât escape the fact his players have now failed to score in three consecutive league games, and heâll at least be hoping they can replicate their opening goal in the reverse H2H against Girona and then convert it into something better than a 2-1 loss. But youâd have to go back five La Liga home games to find the last time they drew first blood in front of their own fans.[/p]
[p]Girona have been inconsistent in this competition since the beginning of February (W6, D2, L6), with the weight of a long campaign bearing down upon them in its final trimester. Fortunately, head coach MĂchel can already begin planning for a 2024/25 that will involve eight âleague stageâ matches in the UEFA Champions League. [/p]
[p]MĂchel insisted after a 1-0 loss at home to Villarreal that the players have not relaxed since securing Champions League qualification, insisting theyâll pursue what he described as an increasingly difficult task of finishing in second ahead of Barcelona and thus qualifying for the next Spanish Super Cup. They found Valencia in a similarly poor run of form when winning the reverse fixture in early December, but a record of five losses from their last seven La Liga away games (W1, D1) suggests they may not be in a position to match it.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: One of Hugo Duroâs 12 goalscoring appearances for Valencia this La Liga season came in their 2-1 away loss to Girona. After opening the scoring from an early corner in their 2-2 draw at AlavĂ©s, defender Eric GarcĂa is one of four Girona players to score at least three La Liga away goals this season. [/p]
[p]Hot streak: The home side on the day did not lead at half-time in any of Valenciaâs last eight La Liga matches.[/p]