Girona vs Slovan Bratislava Prediction: Strelec to strike in Spain at 9/2

It's not been an ideal start to the La Liga season for Girona, whose fourth-place finish in 2023/24 set standards high. The Catalonians currently sit 12th in the Spanish top flight after winning just three of their first 10 games, while their maiden Uefa Champions League campaign is yet to get off the ground either, with a 1-0 loss at Paris Saint-Germain followed by a 3-2 home defeat to Feyenoord last time out.

Like Michel's side, Slovan Bratislava have lost their first two Champions League matches this term, suffering a 5-1 thrashing at Celtic before being trounced 4-0 at home by Manchester City to set up an intriguing encounter in Spain on Tuesday (20:00, TNT Sports 6). Below you can find my Girona vs Slovan Bratislava prediction ahead of this league phase contest at the Estadio Municipal de Montilivi.

Team News

Girona's lengthy injury list includes Viktor Tsygankov, Jhon Solis, Daley Blind, Oriol Romeu, Portu, Pau Lopez and Bryan Gil, while there are question marks over the fitness of ex-Watford man Yaser Asprilla, who missed Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad.

Among those fit and ready to feature are Paulo Gazzaniga, Donny van de Beek and Arnaut Danjuma, three players familiar to those of a Premier League persuasion, with Van de Beek scoring his first Girona goal in the Champions League defeat to Feyenoord earlier this month.

Abel Ruiz was an unused substitute on the weekend and Michel must decide whether to hand the Spaniard a start instead of North Macedonia striker Bojan Miovski, who is yet to find the net since joining from Scottish side Aberdeen in the summer.

Football Odds

Slovan Bratislava will be without veteran midfielder Juraj Kucka for the trip to Spain. The 37-year-old hasn't featured since his side's humiliation to Celtic in Glasgow on September 18, missing five club matches and two internationals for his country Slovakia in that period.

Kevin Wimmer and the manager's son, Vladimir Weiss Jr., formerly of Tottenham Hotspur/Stoke City and Manchester City/Bolton, respectively, are the household names in this Slovan side, which is likely to feature David Strelec up top and Tigran Barseghyan in attacking midfield.

Strelec scored 11 times in the Slovak First Football League last season and has four goals to his name in the competition this term, while he struck three times in qualifying to help Slovan reach the league phase.

Barseghyan, meanwhile, is Slovan's top goalscorer with 10 goals this term, two of which came in Champions League qualifiers.

Girona vs Slovan Bratislava Odds

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Girona are 1/6 to claim their first-ever Champions League victory on Tuesday, giving them an implied win probability of 85.7%, while Slovan are 14/1, or a 6.7% chance, to get off the mark in the league phase with all three points in Spain.

The draw is priced at 13/2, both teams to score at 1/1, and over 2.5 total goals at 2.5.

Girona's Cristhian Stuani (4/6) leads the anytime goalscorer market followed by teammates Miovski (7/10), Danjuma and Ruiz (both 5/6), while Strelec, Barseghyan and Idjessi Metsoko (all 9/2) are shortest priced for the visitors.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Girona & Yes @ 13/8

Girona are so short-priced that they are barely worth backing in the straight-win market, in my opinion. So, instead, I'm adding in both teams to score, which combined with a Girona victory, takes the odds up to a much healthier-looking 13/8.

The reasons against Slovan scoring are that they blanked last time out in the competition at home to Man City and only managed a consolation at Celtic when they were three down, while Girona have kept three clean sheets this season despite their troubles. Two of those shutouts came in wins, so they have shown they know how to defend at times.

However, there have been nine other games where they have failed to keep a clean sheet and they've conceded 16 goals in their 10 outings this term, suffering heavy defeats to Atletico Madrid (3-0) and Barcelona (4-1).

Girona are also yet to keep the opposition out in the Champions League, being edged out 1-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the French capital before losing 3-2 at home to Feyenoord, despite taking the lead.

Slovan are likely to feel downcast after being battered and bruised in their two Champions League contests so far, but I think they can learn their lessons - to an extent - and should feel more confident heading into this one than they did before their opening two.

Parkhead is a notoriously difficult venue to play at, with the likes of Barcelona and Manchester United suffering defeats in Glasgow over the years, while Man City are one of the best teams in the world and losing to them is no disgrace, by whatever margin.

Like Slovan, Girona are likely to be suffering from a lack of confidence, and that should give the Slovakians hope that they can at least get on the scoresheet in Spain.

Ultimately, though, I expect Girona to come through this contest with all three points as they look to kickstart their campaign.

Anytime Goalscorer - David Strelec (SLB) @ 9/2

Just as there's little value to be had in backing a Girona win, the Spanish side's main men are all short-priced in the anytime goalscorer market, and so instead I'm looking at which Slovan star is most likely to find the net, seeing as I am tipping them to strike at the Estadio Municipal de Montilivi.

Strelec and Barsghyan are the most obvious candidates to score for the Slovakians, so it's no surprise that they head the anytime goalscorer market for Tuesday's visitors alongside Metsoko.

I'm plumping for Strelec to be the one to land this 9/2, though, as he proved his big-game credentials during the October international break when bagging a brace for Slovakia to secure a point in a 2-2 draw in the Uefa Nations League. Slovakia were 2-0 down after 32 minutes in Bratislava but Strelec pulled one back just before half-time and he struck his second in the 72nd minute to surprise the Swedes.

It's been a fairly slow start to the club season for the 23-year-old, who has seven goals in 20 appearances for Slovan, but he's primed to prove himself on Tuesday, and the odds are enticing enough for me to back him to do so.

Offers

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