Girona vs Barcelona Prediction: Lamine Yamal to score in Catalan Derby

| Monday 16th February 2026, 8:56am

Monday 16th February 2026, 8:56am

We don't get many matches involving one of the big two in Spain on a Monday night but we do this week as the Catalan Derby is served up with Barcelona on the road to take on Girona. Kick-off is set for 20:00 with Premier Sports 1 broadcasting the game live to UK TV viewers.

Our Spanish Football tipster Mark Sochon brings us the Team News, Match Odds and his two Best Bets for the match. Let's check out his Girona vs Barcelona Predictions here on Betfred Insights...

Girona vs Barcelona Betting Tips

Lamine Yamal to score anytime @ 1/1
Both teams to score & Second half - Barcelona @ 13/8 via Bet Builder

*odds correct at time of publication

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Girona vs Barcelona Preview:

Barcelona face a rare Monday night game this week as they take on Catalan rivals Girona at the Estadi Montilivi. The visitors head into this match on the back of their heaviest defeat in the Hansi Flick era.

On an extraordinary night at the Estadio Metropolitano on Thursday, Barça found themselves 4-0 down at the break against an inspired Atlético Madrid side in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.

The tone was set for a woeful defensive display from the visitors in just the seventh minute when Joan García failed to control an Eric García backpass, which trickled helplessly over the line as the goalkeeper raced to recover. With new signing Ademola Lookman excelling on the left flank for Atleti, the cup holders had no answer to a wave of attacks from the home team in the opening 45 minutes.

They went on to lose the game 4-0, and now face a mountain to climb in the second leg at Camp Nou. Perhaps more worryingly, the result also raises serious doubts about the Champions League credentials of Flick's team. In arguably their three toughest away fixtures so far this season, Barça have been beaten by an aggregate score of 9-1, having also lost on the road against Real Madrid and Chelsea.

A successful La Liga title defence is also far from certain. Real Madrid regained top spot on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad. However, it is the Catalan club who have been much more impressive overall this term in the league. A 3-0 home triumph over Mallorca last weekend made it 12 wins from 13 outings in the Spanish top flight.

This is likely to be a tougher match against a Girona side that did the double over their neighbours as recently as the 2023/24 season. They won both meetings 4-2 during a wonderful campaign for Míchel's men, although normal service has resumed since then, with Barça reeling off three straight victories in this fixture and scoring 10 goals in the process.

Girona have scored in all of the last five meetings, and they'll fancy their chances of keeping up that record on Monday night. They've made great strides forward following a very poor start to the season, which left them on one point after five games, with a goal difference of -13.

A combination of their links with Manchester City and the funds raised by player sales and Champions League football last term, have given Girona far more room for manoeuvre in the transfer market than the other clubs in the bottom half of La Liga.

They spent around €27m last summer on the purchases of Vladyslav Vanat, Bryan Gil and Azzedine Ounahi, while Axel Witsel and Àlex Moreno arrived on free transfers. Fresh loan additions were made in January, including Marc-André ter Stegen from this week's opponents, as well as Claudio Echeverri from City.

It hasn't exactly gone to plan for those two players so far. Ter Stegen played just two games before suffering a serious hamstring injury, while Echeverri's error set up a 92nd-minute equaliser for Sevilla last weekend, which denied Girona what would have been a priceless three points. They were awarded an even later penalty in a dramatic end to that match, but Cristhian Stuani failed to convert.

Team News:

Ter Stegen is far from the only Girona injury absentee right now. They are also missing Moreno, Portu, Ounahi and Donny van de Beek.

Fran Beltrán, a January signing from Celta Vigo, is expected to be fit following a foot issue. An unchanged lineup is possible following a strong display in Seville last time out, with the versatile Arnau Martínez currently being used as an emergency left-back.

Barcelona will be without Pedri, Gavi and Andreas Christensen again. Marcus Rashford is also sidelined with a knee injury, but there's better news regarding Raphinha, who should be fit enough to at least make the bench.

It was Ferran Torres who started up front against Atlético Madrid on Thursday. That suggests Robert Lewandowski may rotate in here, although there is the potential for both players to start with Ferran capable of operating out wide. Marc Bernal, Gerard Martín and João Cancelo are the other leading candidates should the visiting coach decide fresh legs are needed.

Girona vs Barcelona Lineups (Predicted)

Girona: Gazzaniga, Rincon, Reis, Blind, Martinez, Beltran, Martin, Tsygankov, Lemar, Gil, Vanat.
Barcelona: J. Garcia, Kounde, Cubarsi, Martin, Balde, E. Garcia, De Jong, Yamal, Olmo, Fermin, Lewandowski.

Match Odds:

Barcelona are the 4/11 favourites to win this derby clash. The Draw is priced at 9/2, while you can back Girona to upset their giant neighbours again at 6/1.

There are normally goals whenever these clubs meet, and you can back Both teams to score in this one at 1/2, while Over 3.5 goals is on offer at 4/5. Girona are priced at 2/1 to score over 1.5 goals.

You can back the title-chasing visitors to score over 2.5 goals at 10/11. They're also priced at 7/4 to win the game to nil, while Barcelona to win and Over 3.5 goals is on offer at 13/10.

Vanat should again lead the line for the hosts. He has netted four goals in his last six appearances, and is priced at 6/1 to score first, and 8/5 to score anytime in this match.

From a visiting perspective, Lewandowski is available at 7/10 to score anytime, while you can back Ferran to get on the scoresheet at odds of 5/6.

*You can bet on and check out all of our Girona vs Barcelona Odds with our full betting markets on betfred.com

Girona vs Barcelona Stats

Barcelona (62) have scored nearly three times the amount of goals this season than Girona (22).
Barcelona have seven of the top ten for Shots per 90 minutes in La Liga. Girona's highest player is 39th (Joel Roca).
Both clubs have only lost one of their past five matches in Spain's top flight.
The visitors' have had the fewest yellow cards with just 33 in 23 matches.

Bet 1 - Lamine Yamal to score anytime @ 1/1

The only thing lacking from Lamine Yamal's game heading into the 2025/26 campaign was perhaps the kinds of goal numbers that some other elite forward and wide players produce. There are now clear signs that his finishing is improving, with the teenager showing more composure when it comes to the simpler chances that he sometimes spurned in previous years.

His strike against Mallorca last time out moved the winger into double figures for goals in a La Liga season for the first time. He has scored in each of his last three league appearances, and also netted in the Champions League against Copenhagen at the end of January.

With Girona missing their first-choice left-back, Yamal should be a major threat in a fixture in which he scored twice last season. I'm backing the 18-year-old to get on the scoresheet again at odds of 1/1.

Bet 2 - Both teams to score & Second half - Barcelona @ 13/8

With Raphinha returning to the squad, Barcelona have their full complement of attacking options available, with the exception of Rashford. The quality they can turn to off the bench has contributed to them punishing tiring opponents throughout this season, with their second-half goal difference in La Liga standing at a stunning +29, compared to +11 before the interval.

Their defence does still look shaky at times, as Atleti proved to devastating effect last week. That suggests there will be a goal in this for Girona, who have two capable finishers in the shape of Vanat and his fellow Ukrainian Viktor Tsygankov.

However, the home team are currently short on depth as a result of their injuries, which will leave Míchel with few convincing options to turn to in the second half. 59% of the league goals they've conceded this term have come after the interval, and I'm using the Bet Builder to back Both teams to score and Second half - Barcelona at 13/8.

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Mark Sochon P/L 25/26 Season:

Points Staked: 171
Points Returned: 164.85
P/L: -6.15

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...