Sports Mole previews Wednesday’s Champions League clash between Girona and Feyenoord, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Girona will host their first ever Champions League match when Feyenoord make the trip to Montilivi in one of Wednesday’s early kickoffs.
Both clubs fell to defeat on matchday one, with Girona losing in heartbreaking circumstances, while Feyenoord were thrashed on home soil.
Match preview
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After stunning all of Europe by breaking the Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid top-three dominance last season, Girona are struggling to back that up this season.
On matchday one, they faced a daunting prospect, travelling to the French capital to face Paris Saint-Germain on their European debut.
Michel‘s side defended heroically and rode their luck at times, until Paulo Gazzaniga‘s howler in the final minute saw him score an own goal that handed the Parisians a 1-0 win at the Parc des Princes.
Girona’s game plan was there for all to see, and they almost got over the line with a 0-0 draw, despite having just three shots across the 90 minutes, the joint-lowest of any club on their Champions League debut.
The Blanquivermells went into the PSG clash on the back of a humbling 4-1 defeat to Catalan rivals Barcelona, and they have been just as underwhelming since the trip to Paris.
Immediately after those defeats, Michel’s side lost again to Valencia, handing the struggling club their first, and to date only, win of the season.
A 0-0 draw at home to Rayo Vallecano followed, before a late Iago Aspas strike cancelled out Yangel Herrera‘s opener against Celta Vigo on Sunday.
That leaves Girona down in 12th on just nine points, suggesting a European push may not be on the cards this time around, meaning they must make the most of the current campaign, and an expectant crowd at Montilivi would love nothing more than to see their side pick up a first win on the continent.
The hosts will be favourites too, as life after Arne Slot has not been going well for visiting Feyenoord.
New manager Brian Priske, who impressed previously at Sparta Prague, has been unable to get going since arriving at De Kuip, winning just one of their opening four games of the Eredivisie season before the Champions League campaign began.
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They could not have made a worse start in the competition either, as Feyenoord were thumped 4-0 at home by German champions Bayer Leverkusen, leaving only Dinamo Zagreb, who lost 9-2 on matchday one, below them in the 36-team standings.
The Rotterdam club did respond by beating NAC Breda 2-0 following that humbling loss, but they dropped yet more points at the weekend, drawing 1-1 away to NEC Nijmegen, leaving them down in sixth, already 11 points off the summit after just seven games.
Knowing there is no chance of playing Roma, the side that have beaten them in the last three seasons in Europe, may give Feyenoord some additional belief, as the 1970 winners will have their sights set on progressing past this stage for the first time.
On six previous group stage entries, Feyenoord were eliminated each time, including last season, finishing behind Atletico Madrid and Lazio.
Woeful away form is a big factor in that, as the Dutch side have lost all of their last 10 on the road in this competition, with the last time they avoided defeat coming in a 1-0 win over Newcastle United all the way back in 2002.
Girona Champions League form:
Girona form (all competitions):
Feyenoord Champions League form:
Feyenoord form (all competitions):
Team News
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Girona suffered two setbacks in their draw with Celta at the weekend, as Oriol Romeu was forced off inside the opening quarter of an hour, before Daley Blind, the man who assisted the opening goal, was then also struck down with injury shortly after the interval.
Jastin Garcia (shoulder) and Ricard Artero (ankle) were already on the treatment table, and neither are set to return until after the international break coming up in just over a week’s time.
The home side’s goalscoring woes could see Michel call upon new signing Bojan Miovski, considering the Macedonian striker scored four and set up another two on the continent for Aberdeen last season.
Feyenoord’s recent 2-0 win over NAC came at a cost, as they lost top scorer Santiago Gimenez for around three months, after the Mexican suffered a hip injury in the first half of the match.
That will likely see Ayase Ueda come in from the beginning again, but he has huge shoes to fill given that Gimenez scored 26 goals for the club last season.
In more positive news, Quilindschy Hartman is closing in on a return from a lengthy knee injury, while Calvin Stengs and Bart Niewkoop should be back after the October internationals.
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Frances, Krejci, David Lopez, Gutierrez; Ivan Martin, Herrera; Tsygankov, Abel Ruiz, Danjuma; Miovski
Feyenoord possible starting lineup:
Wellenreuther; Lotomba, Beelen, Hancko, Smal; Milambo, Hwang, Timber; Osman, Ueda, Igor Paixao
We say: Girona 1-1 Feyenoord
It will be a special occasion at Montilivi as the locals see their side walk out under the Champions League banner for the first time, but their recent results suggest a debut home win may be beyond them.
Girona will be the ninth different Spanish team Feyenoord have faced in Europe, and while the visitors are in no form at all domestically, and have lost on their last three trips to Spain, they could arrest that run here in a tight encounter.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.