Girona vs Atletico Madrid

Estadio Municipal de Montilivi is the venue as La Liga surprise package Girona and title hopefuls Atletico Madrid lock horns at the start of 2024.

Fresh off a splendid 2023, Girona can only hope holidays won’t impede their momentum as they commence the new calendar year as joint-La Liga leaders following a memorable 18-game start (W14, D3, L1). It takes no rocket science to grasp this is Girona’s best-ever top-flight campaign, but throwing away a narrow lead in the 88th minute against Real Betis last time out was a mental blow (1-1). Back to the Estadio Municipal de Montilivi, where they boast an outrageous 78% win ratio this La Liga campaign (W7, D1, L1), ‘Los Blanquivermells’ will be out to end a three-game losing league streak against Atletico Madrid. But having not won any of their six top-flight H2Hs in the 21st century (D3, L3), Girona will have to cope with a significant psychological disadvantage.

Meanwhile, 10-man Atletico Madrid eked out a narrow 1-0 win against Sevilla at the end of 2023 to arrest a two-game winless league run (D1, L1) and stay within a seven-point distance of the leading duo. However, Diego Simeone’s men have faltered on their recent La Liga travels, losing the last three in a row by a combined score of 5-1 after winning the previous two by 2+ goals ‘to nil.’ To make things worse, ‘Los Colchoneros’ have drawn a blank in their two most recent away league matches, casting further doubt on their bid to become only the second La Liga side after cross-town rivals Real Madrid to beat Girona in top-flight action this season.