Girona vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction: Surprise leaders look good for victory

Girona have emerged as the surprise package of this La Liga campaign, topping the table after 13 rounds.

Can their fairy tale run continue as they round off the weekend’s action against fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao?

Team news

Girona are dealing with some injury issues despite their great form, while their game being pushed to Monday hasn’t cleared them of international after-effects.

Savio returns from Brazilian Under 23 duty as a doubt, while Toni Villa, Juan Carlos and David Lopez are all out.

For Bilbao, outside of Yeray Alvarez, they have a clean bill of health.

Match odds

Girona are 13/10 to register a home win on Monday evening, with visitors Bilbao available at 2/1 and the Draw priced at 5/2.

Girona have won five of their six home league games so far this season and three of those victories have come with a clean sheet.

A similar outcome on Monday is a 7/2 shot.

Girona to win @ 13/10

Girona have won an incredible 11 of their 13 games so far this season, only slipping up at home to Real Madrid and away to Real Sociedad. They’ve won five of six home matches so far this season, so they should be confident of another success on Monday.

In fact, the hosts’ haul of 34 points from 13 games this season marks them out for glory. Of the last five sides to hit that mark this early in the campaign, four have gone on to lift the Spanish title.

Athletic make this trip having lost three times this term, but each of those losses have come to sides in the top six. In a way, this could be seen as an acid test for Girona, as they can prove their European credentials by following Real, Barcelona and Sociedad’s victories over Bilbao.

The visitors have lost to nil in each of those defeats, having scored just seven times across their six away matches this term. Girona have scored an impressive 15 times at home so far this term, so expect them to have too much for the visitors.

Considering Athletic’s losses to nil against top sides, Girona to win this one by a couple also appeals. In the correct score betting, consider a 2-0 win for Girona at 12/1.

Artem Dovbyk to score @ 13/10

The hosts’ success this term has been spearheaded by Dovbyk, who has seven goals to his name already. He’s scored four times across his last four La Liga games, so he should be a threat on Monday night.

The forward doesn’t tend to hit the mark early, with just three of his seven strikes this term opening the scoring.

However, he’s proving to be a consistent danger for opposition sides and at 13/10, he’s well priced in the anytime scorer market. Look to the Ukrainian to notch on Monday night, while he’s worth a look at 4/1 in the last goalscorer market.

Check out our Football Betting Tips here.