Barcelona vs Girona Prediction: Back Barca to win but no Clean Sheet

It is Catalan-Derby time in La Liga as high-flying Barcelona take on their near-neighbours and relegation-threatened Girona on Saturday afternoon. La Liga TV is where you'll have to go to watch this one, with kick-off set for 15:15.

Our La Liga Betting Expert has penned our preview for this clash and has the home side winning but they might not have it all their own way. You can read why and check out his top two Barcelona vs Girona Predictions below...

*You can check out all the Football Odds and markets on offer with us over at betfred.com

Match Preview:

There's a Catalan derby in La Liga on Saturday, as Barcelona and Girona meet at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. The hosts are in need of a response after a heavy defeat in their last match. 

While it'd be extremely premature to call this a crisis at Barça, they have lost back-to-back matches for only the second time under Hansi Flick. Following a 2-1 home loss to PSG in the Champions League, they were beaten 4-1 at Sevilla in the league. 

That was comfortably their worst performance since the German took over in 2024. While credit must go to Sevilla, who were outstanding, there were a number of factors that contributed to the defeat, Barça's first of the campaign in La Liga. 

A combination of extremely hot conditions for the time of year, numerous injuries, and it being the Catalan club's seventh match in 22 days helps explain why they found it impossible to match the energy levels of their opponents. Having coped well without the sidelined Lamine Yamal in many of their other recent fixtures, this felt like one game too many for Flick's team, particularly with Raphinha also absent. 

Parallels could be drawn with their 4-2 loss at Osasuna on the corresponding matchday last season. Barcelona responded to that setback by winning their next seven games in all competitions, scoring 29 goals in the process. 

However, their ongoing selection issues suggest a repeat is less likely this term. Flick will already have half an eye on next weekend's Clásico, and this should be a decent warm-up fixture for that game, with Girona currently struggling and in the relegation zone. 

Míchel's team won both of their meetings with Barcelona in the 2023/24 season by 4-2 margins. However, those heady days must already seem like an eternity ago, with Girona's fortunes taking a sharp turn for the worse since then. 

They lost both meetings by 4-1 margins last season, and found themselves involved in a relegation scrap, a year after securing a stunning third-place finish. Things have declined even further since then, although the Blanquivermells did pick up their first victory of the campaign last time out, beating Valencia 2-1 at Montilivi. 

Few of the players who shone two seasons ago remain at the club, and few of the players who replaced them have delivered the goods. 

Vladyslav Vanat is hoping to be the exception. The Ukraine international made a €15m deadline day move to the club, and the striker has already scored twice in five matches in La Liga. 

Azzedine Ounahi, another late summer signing, also impressed before picking up an injury, but there are still defensive flaws in a team that has conceded 17 times in eight matches so far this term. 

Team News: 

The preparations of both teams heading into this derby have been hampered by some significant selection issues, with the international break providing little respite to their respective injury problems. 

Barcelona will be without seven players here, with Marc-André ter Stegen, Joan García, Gavi, Raphinha, Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo all yet to recover from their issues. Yamal and Fermín López should both be fit enough to feature. 

Girona are missing both Alejandro Francés and Iván Martín to suspension, after both were shown red cards a fortnight ago. Donny van de Beek and David López will miss out due to injuries, while they have further doubts over Ounahi, Jhon Solís, Viktor Tsygankov and Abel Ruiz. 

Match Odds: 

Despite their poor recent results, Barcelona start as the 1/5 favourites to win this game. You can back the Draw at 13/2, while Girona are priced at 11/1 to take the Catalan derby spoils. 

The recent history of this fixture certainly suggests we'll get goals. Both teams to score is priced at 4/6, while you can back Over 4.5 goals at 6/4, a winning bet in each of the last four meetings between the clubs. 

If you're expecting most of the action to come at one end of the pitch, you can back Barça to score over 3.5 goals at 6/4, while the hosts are priced at 1/2 to score in both halves. Alternatively, you can back Girona to win either half at 10/3. 

With Ferran, Raphinha and Lewandowski sidelined, the hosts will be dependent on their other attacking players for goals. Marcus Rashford is likely to operate as the striker. He's available at 4/1 to score first, and 9/10 to score anytime, while you can back Yamal to score anytime at 10/11. 

Vanat looks certain to lead the line again for the visitors. You can back the 23-year-old to score first at 17/2, and score anytime at 2/1. 

You can bet on this match via our Barcelona vs Girona Odds page on the main betfred.com website, with all the latest prices and full betting markets.

Bet 1 - Barcelona to win & Both teams to score @ 23/20 

The long list of Barça absentees is certainly striking, but punters should be aware that Girona could be missing even more players if the likes of Ounahi and Tsygankov fail to recover from their recent injuries. 

Therefore, this is still a game the hosts should largely control, with Pedri and Frenkie de Jong both fit and expected to start in midfield. 19-year-old Roony Bardghji has looked lively and should get another chance to impress out wide, while Yamal's return will also obviously boost the home team's attacking threat. 

However, their high line was frequently exposed by Sevilla last time out, and Míchel is one of the more adventurous coaches in the league, so Girona have every chance of getting on the scoresheet. I'm backing Barcelona to win and Both teams to score at 23/20. 

Bet 2 - Marcus Rashford 2+ shots on target & Vladyslav Vanat 1+ shots on target @ 2/1 

With the hosts missing so many attacking players, and with Yamal and Fermín only just getting back to fitness, Rashford looks very likely to complete the 90 minutes here. He didn't start either of England's internationals over the past fortnight, so should be fresh and ready to build on his first goal in La Liga in Seville. The 27-year-old has had 15 attempts across his last four appearances for Barça, hitting the target twice in every match. 

At the other end, Vanat may operate as a lone striker and he'll be looking to emulate Isaac Romero, who frequently got the wrong side of the Barcelona defence on matchday eight. The Sevilla striker had five shots and missed some sitters in that game, but Vanat is a better finisher. He's hit the target with five of his eight shots so far in La Liga. 

I'm expecting both players to get opportunities here, and am using the Bet Builder to back Marcus Rashford to have 2+ shots on target and Vladyslav Vanat to have 1+ shots on target at 2/1. 

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Mark Sochon P/L 25/26 Season:

• Points Staked: 57
• Points Returned: 52.08
• P/L: -4.92

You can check out Mark's Football Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...