11 January 2025. 15h00. Victoria “Mountain ridge”.
La Liga 2024-25. 19th day
“Alaves” (Vitoria) – “Girona”
Disqualified: none
Injured: Antonio Sivera – Bojan Miovski
At risk of disqualification: Antonio Blanco – Yangel Herrera
“Alavés”
Alaves recorded their last victory on November 1, when they narrowly beat “Mallorca” at home. In the next two matches, the Basques suffered two away defeats, losing 0-3 against “Villarreal” and 1-2 against “Atletico”, while failing to win at home against “Leganes” (1 -1). The recent drop in points led to the resignation of Luis Garcia Plaza, with Argentine Eduardo Coudet taking the reins, a coach who had previously enjoyed a decent spell with ‘Celta’. However, since the coaching change, Alaves are yet to record a victory.
-Chacho Coudet made his debut in a cup match against “Deportiva Minera”, but his team surprisingly failed to win, eventually losing in the penalty shootout and exiting the tournament. In their last three consecutive La Liga matches, Alaves have recorded draws. First, the “blue-and-whites” were surprised by obtaining a point in Pamplona – a 2-2 draw against “Osasuna”. They then drew a derby at home against ‘Athletic’ (1-1) and recently drew 2-2 away against ‘Valencia’, despite taking two lead thanks to goals from Carlos Martin and Joaan Hordan. The lack of wins has seen Alaves fall to the bottom of the La Liga table, just two points above the relegation zone.
“Girona”
The Catalans were also eliminated from the Copa del Rey before the winter break, losing in a penalty shootout to another 4th division team, “Logrones”, but unlike the Basques, they failed to score against their opponents in regulation time. This disappointment in the cup coincided with a poor series of results for the “rochiblancos”. Before that, Michel’s team unexpectedly lost away to “Sturm” and miraculously saved a draw in a trip to “Villarreal” (2-2), but then suffered three defeats in a row . To begin with, “Girona” lost 0-3 at home to “Real”, then lost 0-1 at home to “Liverpool” and finally was defeated in an away match against “Mallorca”, despite numerical superiority for most of the game – 1-2.
However, before the winter break, the Catalans finally recorded a victory. This was expected, considering they were hosting the struggling ‘Valladolid’. Michel’s team had no trouble confirming their status as favourites, scoring three unanswered goals, with veteran defender David Lopez and forwards Abel Ruiz and Arnaut Danjuma on the scoreboard. This victory allowed “Girona” to move up to the upper part of the La Liga standings. Currently, the “rochiblancos” find themselves in 8th place, tied on points with “Real Sociedad”, “Betis” and “Osasuna”, ahead of the latter two thanks to a better goal difference.
“Alavés” – “Girona” : Expected composition
‘Alaves’ have right back Nauel Tenaglia back from suspension, but the Basques recently lost their starting goalkeeper Antonio Sivera for several months, which is a big blow considering his considerable contributions to ‘Babazorros’ points total. As for “Girona”, the Catalans will once again have Oriol Romeu and Viktor Tsygankov, who has revised his image, the only absent being the striker Bojan Miovski.
“Alavés” – “Girona” : Author’s prediction
‘Alaves’ have not lost to ‘Girona’ in their last three home matches – a 2-1 win and two draws with identical 2-2 scores – and it seems somewhat surprising that the bookmakers are seeing the visitors as favorites for this meeting. However, this status does not particularly suit the Basques during this confrontation either. As for my prediction, I expect “Babazorros” to extend their unbeaten streak under the leadership of Eduardo Coudet, although the most likely outcome seems to be a high-goal draw – 1- 1 or 2-2. Thus, I believe the optimal betting option would be “Both Teams to Score”, offering rather attractive odds.
