Almería will continue their quest for La Liga survival this Thursday when they welcome fellow relegation candidates Girona to Estadio de Los Juegos Mediterráneos.
Venue: Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos (Almería)
Key Statistics
Almería have scored 2+ goals in five of their last ten home matches.
Both teams have scored in the last six Girona matches.
The hosts have not kept a clean sheet this season.
Girona are winless in four away league games (D1, L3).
They have conceded 2+ goals in three of their last five games.
Head to head
In the last ten meetings between both sides, Girona have five wins while Almeria have three wins.
Latest performances in all competitions
Almería: L-W-L-L-L
Girona: D-L-L-L-W
Almería
Almería will look to get back to winning ways when they host Girona on Thursday.
The hosts come into this tie on the back of a 3-1 loss to Real Betis in the Andalusian derby. Almería went into the game looking to register consecutive victories in La Liga for the first time since February 2015, having beaten Rayo Vallecano before that game.
But despite their best efforts on Sunday, Almería left the Estadio Benito Villamarín with zero points as a William Carvalho-inspired Betis have Manuel Pellegrini’s side maximum points and condemned Rubi’s side to their sixth loss of the season (W2, D1).
The Rojiblancos, who only returned to La Liga this season after a seven-year absence, are in the race against time to leave the relegation zone. They currently sit in 18th place, with seven points to their name.
But they can move out of the relegation zone above their visitors into mid-table if they win this game. But this fixture has also been difficult for them, as they have failed to win against Girona in their last four home meetings (D2, L2). But having beaten Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano at home this season, they will fancy their chances of getting another home win in another home game.
To do so, they have to keep the back door closed, as the hosts are yet to keep a clean sheet so far this season – one of just three sides in La Liga yet to secure one after nine rounds, alongside Elche and this game’s opponents Girona.
Possible Almería starting line-up
Fernando Martinez; Alejandro Pozo, Chumi, Srdjan Babic, Rodrigo Ely, Sergio Akieme; Samu Costa, Lucas Robertone, El Bilal Toure; Lergie Ramezani, Lozaro.
Injured: Carlos Rojas, Alex Centilles, Marko Milovanovic, Juanjo Nieto
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Girona
Girona will look to win their first game in five games when they travel to Sevilla on Thursday.
The visitors come into this tie on the back of a 1-1 draw with Cadiz–a result that ended a three-game losing run but extended their winless run to four games in the league (D1, L3).
They come to town for the first-ever head-to-head in the top flight in search of just their third win of the season, having won against Getafe and Real Valladolid.
However, none of those wins came away from home with Girona losing three out of their four away games this season, and their only point on their road trips coming through a 92nd-minute penalty in a 1-1 draw with Mallorca.
However, Michel’s men have a good record in this fixture and have lost just one of the last four visits to Almería (W1, D2), going unbeaten in the last two without conceding a goal. That record will fill their players with confidence that they can win and pull clear of the relegation zone.
They can also take confidence from a previous meeting with newly-promoted opposition after beating Valladolid 2-1 earlier in the campaign, a side Almería lost 1-0 against back in September.
Possible Girona starting line-up
Juan Carlos; Arnau Martinez, Bernardo Espinosa, Santiago Bueno, Javi Hernandez, Miguel Gutierrez; Aleix Garcia, Rodrigo Riquelme, Yangel Herrera; Oriol Romeu, V. Castellanos.
Injured: Jesus Carvalho
Doubtful: Ibrahima Kebe, Borja Garcia
Suspended: None
Prediction
Almería 1-1 Girona
