Atletico Madrid vs Girona

Estadio Metropolitano is the venue as Atletico Madrid and Girona go head-to-head in a high-stakes La Liga top-four six-pointer.

Atletico Madrid claimed a crucial 2-1 first-leg advantage against Borussia Dortmund in midweek Champions League action, making it three wins in their last four competitive outings (L1). A 2-1 victory at Villarreal in the previous La Liga round saw Los Rojiblancos respond to suffering back-to-back league games for the first time this season and tighten their grip on a coveted top-four finish. However, only two points separate them from fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, underscoring the importance of building on their outstanding home league record this term (W13, D1, L1). They can take confidence from beating Girona in three consecutive top-flight H2Hs before a goal-glutted 4-3 loss in January’s reverse fixture.

On the other hand, Girona’s patchy form has seen them alternate between winning and losing across their last six La Liga outings (W3, L3). They’ll hope to break that trend in Madrid and post back-to-back league wins for the first time since January following a 3-2 home triumph against Betis in the previous round. Yet, that seems like an uphill task, considering the visitors have lost their last four away league matches on the trot, frustratingly failing to get on the scoresheet on three occasions. Despite their recent scoring woes on the road, the Catalans are still amongst the most exciting teams in La Liga, averaging a league-high 3.27 total goals per game this season.