Girona vs Athletic Bilbao

Estadio Municipal de Montilivi is the venue as Girona and Athletic Bilbao go head-to-head in an exciting La Liga match-up.

Unexpected La Liga leaders Girona come into proceedings with their confidence at an all-time high after a 2-1 comeback win at Rayo Vallecano on the stroke of the international break extended their winning streak in the competition to five games. Barring a 3-0 home loss to fellow title rivals Real Madrid in late September, Michel’s men have gone from strength to strength this term, racking up ten wins in their 11 remaining league outings (D1) en route to the club’s best-ever start in the top flight. Scoring prowess has been synonymous with Girona this season as they commenced this round as the division’s most prolific attack with 31 goals, 15 of which came on home turf. That scoring blank against ‘Los Blancos’ remains the only time ‘Los Blanquivermells’ have failed to score in La Liga action this season.

On the other hand, Athletic Bilbao’s bid to secure their first top-four finish since 2013/14 is off and running after a nail-biting 4-3 home victory over Celta Vigo last time out fired them within a six-point distance of fourth-placed Barcelona. After back-to-back winless league games (D1, L1), Ernesto Valverde’s men have won their last two and have a chance to make it three in a row for the first time this season. However, ‘Los Leones’ have recently struggled on hostile turf, suffering two defeats on their three most recent La Liga travels (W1). A lack of defensive solidity has been a problem, with Bilbao only managing one clean sheet across eight competitive games since mid-September, casting doubt on their hopes of tilting an evenly-poised H2H record (W3, L3) in their favor.