Overview
Girona are going through a difficult season in La Liga 2025-2026. After 16 rounds, the Catalan team has only won 3 times, drawn 6 and lost 7, with a total of 15 points, ranked 18th on the rankings and in the danger zone.
Being eliminated early from Copa del Rey gave Girona a full week off to prepare for this match. Their most recent appearance was a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad on December 12, a result that was a great relief in spirit.
Coach Michel expects his players to repeat that performance, especially when Girona plays relatively consistently at home, where they have won 11 points after 8 matches this season.
However, the history of the confrontation does not support the home team at Montilivi Stadium. Girona have only won against Atletico Madrid once in 12 encounters, which was a dramatic 4-3 home win in January 2024. Last season, Atletico Madrid completely dominated with two big wins of 3-0 and 4-0 in La Liga.
On the other hand, Atletico Madrid entered this match with a positive attitude. Coach Diego Simeone's team just defeated Baleares with a score of 3-2 to win a ticket to the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey. That was before a 2-1 victory over Valencia in La Liga to quickly regain momentum after stumbling against Athletic Bilbao in early December.
After 17 rounds, Atletico have 10 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses, earning 34 points, ranking fourth on the rankings. The capital team is 8 points behind Real Madrid and 9 points behind Barcelona. Therefore, the goal of winning all 3 points is a must if they want to maintain their hope of chasing the leading group.
In addition, Atletico are also in a favorable position in the Champions League, ranked eighth in the total group and are in the group that qualified for the knockout round. This gives Simeone more space to rotate their squads during the tight schedule.
Personnel situation
Girona entered the match against Atletico Madrid in a serious disarray in terms of strength. The Montilivi team is facing a long injury list, with Donny van de Beek, Cristhian Stuani, Portu Abel Ruiz, Juan Carlos, Ricard Artero, David Lopez and goalkeeper Vladyslav Krapyvtsov all unable to participate.
In addition, Azzedine Ounahi has left for the African Cup, leaving Girona's attack missing another important option.
In that context, Michel is likely to give Thomas Lemar a chance, a player expected to bring creativity up front, while Vladyslav Vanat is expected to play highest up the attack.
On the other hand, Atletico Madrid also do not have the strongest squad. Marcos Llorente, Alex Baena and Jose Gimenez will undergo late physical tests before the match, and the possibility of all three being on the field is still uncertain.
However, the starting lineup of Diego Simeone's team generally did not have many surprises. Alexander Sorloth is likely to continue to pair Julian Alvarez up front, despite Antoine Griezmann just scoring twice at Copa del Rey.
In midfield, Koke - who stood out in last weekend's win over Valencia - continues to play as a centre-forward, while Marc Pubill is expected to start in defence.
Expected lineup:
Girona: Gazzaniga, Martinez, Reis, Blind, Moreno, Witsel, Martin, Tsygankov, Lemar, Gil, Vanat.
Atletico Madrid: Oblak, Molina, Pubill, Hancko, Ruggeri, Simeone, Barrios, Koke, Gonzalez, Sorloth, Alvarez.
The match between Girona and Atletico Madrid takes place at 20:00 on December 21 (Vietnam time).
