Girona FC’s story went from awe-inspiring to uninspiring; a turn that has saddened most fans of the small guys in football. Without the burden of European competition, the fruits of the labor of the minnow club from Barcelona, Spain, were put on display for all to see in the 2023/24 season. But like many other clubs, they failed to capitalise on their successes from last season, officially making that season an anomaly.
They are now back to their mid-table battle in the Spanish La Liga, where they are only two losses away from fighting for their lives to remain in the Spanish top flight. Michel, the club's coach, has surely learned a lesson in top-flight management at this point in the season but right now, he will be counting his blessings that he can manage a UEFA Champions League game against Liverpool, the team with the third most title wins in the entirety of the competition's history.
Holders of Girona tickets will put their woes in La Liga aside when they turn up to their home ground to see their team face off against Arne Slot's team. This is a match many of them have only dreamed about and seen play out in video game scenarios. They will be hoping for a historical upset, too, just like many of them have dreamt in the past and have played out on their video game consoles.
The inference from the last paragraph is that both teams have never faced each other in the past. Not one of the over 200 teams faced by the Reds in their 132-year history is Girona, and not one of the teams faced in Girona’s 94-year history is Liverpool, even though they have many famous battles against big teams.
Both managers will be starting on a clean slate to cook up tactics to face each other. They will have tons of data to sift through thanks to the rapid rise of the technology in football, but they will have to hazard a guess at the intangibles like mentality, fan presence, and player temperament.
Girona is the team at a disadvantage here, however. This is not just because of their standing in football compared to Liverpool. This is because Liverpool is at the top of the Champions League standings with a 100 percent win record, while Girona is outside the playoff positions and needs a miraculous turn of events across all matches until matchday 8 to stand a chance of even making the playoffs.
Also, as stated earlier, Girona is mid-table in the Spanish top flight, which also points to their less-than-optimal form going into the match with Liverpool, who are top of the Premier League and have built up a healthy lead over Manchester City and Arsenal.
Both managers have a lot to prove at Champions League level but one has the luck and blessings of the football deities this season as well as the squad to prove whatever he has to prove (more on that later). As they both ready their tactics for a historic clash, we have outlined below the matchday ticket information that you need to get ready to witness it. We also have team news from both camps as well as our predictions on how each team will line up for the game and the final scoreline after 90 minutes of what we hoped would be incredible football action.
Match tickets
Girona FC's 14,642-seater capacity stadium, Estadi Montilivi, will host this game on 10 December 2024 at 6:45 PM UK time. This small stadium has hosted many big games against the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atlético de Madrid but having Liverpool play on its turf is one that the blades of grass will surely remember.
Because of the size of the stadium, Girona FC vs Liverpool FC tickets will be few—around 1,500— especially for the travelling Liverpool support. This means that fans of the Premier League club will have to visit the club's official channels to make their reservations early enough to be entered into the ticketing ballots.
Ticket resale platforms present an opportunity for non-local fans of each club to be present at the Estadi Montilivi for the clash. On these websites, these sets of fans can purchase tickets directly from fans who have bought matchday tickets from the official channels of either club but want to part with them.
Team news
Girona FC’s disadvantage goes beyond their less-than-optimal form in both the league and the Champions League. It stretches to their squad composition.
Michel has been playing matches for the better part of two months now without his heaviest hitters Arnaut Danjuma, Portu, Yáser Asprilla, Iván Martín and Abel Ruiz. Of the names mentioned, only Danjuma - who is familiar with Liverpool from his days at AFC Bournemouth - has a December return date from the injury that has kept him sidelined since October. However, he may still not be medically cleared to compete by the time Girona have to face Liverpool.
This has left Michel struggling with a depleted squad to win games and the necessary points to stay afloat in all the competitions that his team is currently participating in.
With or without his full squad, Michel’s team is a tier below Arne Slot's (on paper) but that is not the heartbreaking thing. Liverpool's full squad will be ready to travel to Barcelona for their 10 December 2024 clash. Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota are the only players battling fitness issues, but the goalkeeper will be ready to return towards the end of November, which means that he could also be fit for the Girona clash. His participation is unlikely, however, because Slot has important fixtures that could make or break his domestic title chase—before and after the Girona clash.
Line-ups
Here are our predictions for the starting XIs of both teams.
Girona FC: Gazzaniga; Francés, López, Blind, Gutiérrez; Herrera, Solís; Gil, Tsygankov, van de Beek; Miovski.
Liverpool FC: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson; Endo, Jones, Elliott; Salah, Núñez, Gakpo:
Prediction
As the home team, the buck stops at Girona’s door. They have all the advantage in the world against Liverpool in their small stadium, which means that they can make it so that the Reds develop a feeling akin to claustrophobia. Their fans will have to play a big role in this. As stated earlier, there is no history to pull from, which means this will be an open match and for this reason, Liverpool have the advantage because of their form. This, we believe, will be the single greatest determinant in this game.
Girona FC 0 - 3 Liverpool FC
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.