Girona vs Espanyol Prediction: Back the away side to lead by two on Friday night

It has been a busy week in Spain with a full round of La Liga matches this midweek but the weekend slate is already here - with a Catalan Derby on Friday night. Premier Sports Player from 20:00 for this one for UK viewers.

Our La Liga Betting Expert gets the assignment for this one and you can check out his Girona vs Espanyol 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 this Friday in La Liga. Girona and Espanyol have made contrasting starts to the season, with nine points already separating the sides. 

Not much has gone right at the Estadi Montilivi so far. Girona's demise from their stunning third-place finish in the 2023/24 has continued at a pace, with Míchel's men propping up the table after six matches. They've been particularly poor at home, with a catalogue of individual errors contributing to a woeful run of results.  

Any early-season optimism was erased in 45 minutes on the opening matchday, as Rayo Vallecano raced into a 3-0 lead by the break in Catalonia, with Girona keeper Paulo Gazzaniga at fault for two of the goals. They grabbed a consolation strike in that match, but have since suffered 2-0 and 4-0 home defeats to Sevilla and Levante, respectively. 

Red cards for summer signings Axel Witsel and Vitor Reis contributed to their heavy loss last weekend. Míchel, who was being touted as Pep Guardiola's potential successor at Manchester City this time last year, has been openly critical of the club's recruitment at times, but there are a few glimmers of hope for the 49-year-old to hang onto. 

A more competitive showing in their 1-1 draw away to Athletic Club in midweek delivered their second point of the campaign. New signing Azzedine Ounahi scored in that match and looks just about the best of a large number of additions that have been made over the past three windows. €15m striker Vladyslav Vanat should also be an upgrade on their existing options up front. 

Espanyol will still sense weakness in the home defence, and will know that an early goal here could spark the kind of panic we've seen from Girona at points this season. The visitors have every reason to feel confident, after a strong start that has seen them put 11 points on the board from their opening six matches. 

Their only defeat so far came away to Real Madrid last weekend, but they remain in the European places heading into matchday seven. Manolo González's side really should have at least two more points, after they wasted a number of clear opportunities in a 2-2 home draw against Valencia on Tuesday. 

They created seven big chances in that game, and won the xG count by a margin of 2.58 to 0.74. However, it still took a 96th-minute strike from Javi Puado to salvage a point. 

In terms of their attacking threat, they have made major strides forward in 2025. Edu Expósito was exceptional in a creative midfield role in midweek, and he's often the player who gets them on the front foot. The signing of Englishman Tyrhys Dolan means they've also now got a bit more quality in wide areas, with the ex-Blackburn man impressing with his directness and ability to take defenders on. 

Up top, veteran Kike García is competing with Roberto Fernández for the striker role. Both do a good job of leading the line, and with Pere Milla also starting the season brightly with three goals, Manolo suddenly has genuine depth in advanced areas of the pitch. 

Team News: 

The hosts can welcome back Witsel and Reis from suspensions on Friday night. Despite their indiscretions last weekend, both should come straight back into the starting lineup. 

That's partly a reflection of the quick turnaround following their trip to Bilbao on Tuesday, but also the long injury list that Girona are already dealing with. Míchel won't be able to call upon Thomas Lemar, David López or Donny van de Beek here. Abel Ruiz and Viktor Tsygankov are also major doubts. 

As for Espanyol, they are hoping to have a full squad available for the short trip from Barcelona to Girona. Fernández, Fernando Calero and Urko González de Zarate are all potentially in line to rotate in. Meanwhile, Milla is available again having completed a two-game ban. 

Match Odds: 

Perhaps surprisingly given their miserable record so far this term, Girona are the 7/5 favourites to win this match. The Draw is priced at 23/10, while you can back Espanyol to claim all three points at 2/1. 

If you like the look of the in-form visitors, you can back them to score over 1.5 goals at 13/8. Espanyol are also on offer at 19/20 to win either half, while they're available at 5/1 with a -1.00 Handicap. Those look like long odds given Girona have lost all three home games so far by margins of two or more goals. 

Alternatively, if you fancy the hosts to finally get it right, you can back Girona to win and Over 2.5 goals at 11/4. They are unbeaten in six competitive Catalan derbies against the Pericos, and are also on offer at 16/5 to win this game to nil. 

Vanat leads the way as the 4/1 favourite to score first, while the Ukrainian is priced at 11/8 to score anytime. Ounahi is available at 7/2 to build on his midweek strike by scoring again. 

From a visiting perspective, you can back Puado to strike in back-to-back fixtures at 2/1. Milla is available at 11/4 to net his fourth of the season, while Dolan is priced at 7/2 to open his account in La Liga by scoring anytime. 

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

Bet 1 - 2 Up Early Payout - Espanyol @ 15/8 

Girona have collapsed quickly on a number of occasions already this season. They were 3-0 down in 45 minutes against Rayo and 4-0 down in 28 minutes against Villarreal, while Levante and Sevilla were also both 2-0 up inside an hour on their visits to Montilivi. 

The hosts have conceded 16 goals in six matches, and with Espanyol playing well, there's every chance that one strike for the visitors could be quickly followed by another, given how jittery the home backline looks. 

Manolo's team do have one or two weak points in their own defence, though. Therefore, this match wouldn't necessarily be dead in the event that the away side become the latest visitors to take an early lead in Girona. Given that, I'm backing Espanyol in the 2 Up Early Payout market at 15/8. 

Bet 2 - Over 2.5 goals @ 10/11 

I'm expecting goals in this game, with both coaches likely to be targeting the victory. Girona are going to need to start winning football matches if they're to drag themselves out of this mess, and Míchel still favours a positive, ball-playing approach. There should be more to come from an attack which may see Vanat supported by Bryan Gil and Yaser Asprilla. 

However, Espanyol look more than capable of exposing their defensive flaws. Excluding the trip to the Bernabéu when they were a bit more cautious, they've tried to play on the front foot in all of their matches and have scored at least once on each occasion. 

A fairly open and watchable Catalan derby should be on the cards here, and I'm backing Over 2.5 goals at 10/11. 

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