Girona vs Deportivo Alaves

Estadio Municipal de Montilivi is the venue as two struggling La Liga sides, Girona and Deportivo Alaves, go head-to-head in a high-stakes encounter.

These are unpleasant times for highly-rated Girona manager Michel, with the team claiming just one win from their last ten La Liga outings (D3, L6). Winless in seven straight league games (D3, L4), they now face Alaves hoping to avoid an eighth in a row without victory – something they haven’t endured in this competition since a ten-game drought in 2019 (D4, L6). Their most recent setback, a heavy 4-1 loss to derby rivals Barcelona – whom they beat home and away last season – highlights their dramatic dip in form. The contrast is stark, with Girona sitting a staggering 28 points behind their tally at this stage of the previous campaign.

Meanwhile, visiting Deportivo Alaves are enjoying their joint-longest unbeaten away run of the La Liga season (D3), though they’ve never recorded four successive away draws in the competition. They did suffer a setback last time out, falling 2-0 at home to Rayo Vallecano – a result that left them hovering just above the relegation zone on goal difference heading into the round. Every point counts as the Basque outfit looks to avoid a second relegation since 2006/07, but they face a gigantic task against a team they haven’t beaten away since 2017 (D1, L2). Encouragingly, Alaves have scored in eight of their last nine road trips in all competitions (W1, D5, L3), and only three La Liga sides have netted more away goals this season.