GIRONA VS DEP.LA CORUNA PREVIEW & PREDICTION
Until recently, Girona was active in the coves of Spanish professional football, but in the Montilivi people now dare to dream aloud of European football. If the Catalans want to realize their ambitions, they will have to deal with the troubled Deportivo La Coruna of Clarence Seedorf first. The Dutchman is still waiting for his first victory with his new club.
Girona has been around for 87 years, but of a season like this, the Catalans never dared to dream. Not only do the red-white winners make their debut at the highest level this season, the team of successful trainer Pablo Machin is also a major candidate for European football. Thanks to the very nice 0-2 victory over last weekend’s direct competitor Villarreal, the Blanquivermell remain in seventh place, a place that will most likely be good for a ticket for the Europa League. ‘A top seven ranking is our goal,’ says captain Alex Granell, who clearly is not afraid of extra pressure. Machin runs less fast: “Only five rounds before the end we will see if European football is possible. Anyway, I am very proud of my team, because with 40 points we have already achieved our first goal. ‘ Of course, the coach was referring to life retention. At the beginning of the season, Girona was considered a relegation candidate numero uno, but the Catalans have done a fantastic job.
This Girona does not have to be afraid of anyone. The solid five-man rearguard gives little away, while the team in the front with Christian Stuani and Cristian Portu has two absolute classrooms. Really, everything the two attackers touch this season turns into gold. This season, the duo only needed 86 goal attempts this season to score 25 times, which is an average of only 3.44 goal attempts per goal. In comparison, clubs like Deportivo La Coruna and Espanyol needed 320 and 262 goal attempts to cheer 24 and 23 times respectively. The future will have to show whether Stuani and Portu are not one-day flies, but this season both are showing their best side in each case.
Clarence Seedorf can only dream of attackers like Portu and Stuani, because partly because of a poignant lack of scoring power the Dutch coach with his new club Deportivo La Coruna is still waiting for his first victory. Also in the fifth game with Seedorf at the helm, the Galicians were deprived of a victory, although last weekend the team still left a point at its home match against Eibar: 1-1. The Deportivo La Coruna players did not score again, although Eibar closing point Marko Dmitrovic unintentionally helped with his own goal. Florin Andone and Lucas Perez were given various chances to help their employer to a coveted victory, but they were not able to let it bulge. With the draw, Deportivo La Coruna did not score very well, as the deficit of the number last at number seventeen Levante remained unchanged with two points. Seedorf, however, does not give up the fight: “In a mental sense, we are just bulls. This team shows so much energy and fighting spirit. ‘
Not only the vanguard of Deportivo La Coruna fails almost every week, even in the back it keeps on muddling. With winter purchase Maksym Koval was last weekend already the fifth goalkeeper under the bar, but he did not bake anything at all. The Ukrainian was completely wrong at the opening goal of Eibar and was then sent out of the field just before time. So Seedorf will have to go back to Ruben Martinez next weekend, who honestly can not do much about it either. In an effort to bring about something, Pedro Mosquera, Fabian Schär, Zakaria Bakkali and Juanfran also seem to be heading for a base place. The many changes in the basic eleven are a clear sign that Seedorf is still searching for his ideal formation.
PREDICTION: Both teams to score / YES @ 1.88
