Girona vs Rayo Vallecano Predictions

• Girona have won three of their last five meetings with Rayo Vallecano
• Rayo Vallecano scored the fewest goals among last season’s top-nine teams (41)
• Cristhian Stuani has a stellar record against Rayo Vallecano with 14 goals in 27 matches.

Michel’s men can get off to a winning start

La Liga returns to Estadi Montilivi on Friday as Girona host a Rayo Vallecano side eager to build momentum ahead of a crucial Conference League play-off. Last season, Michel’s side struggled to combine their own European adventures with the day-to-day grind of La Liga, finishing 16th — 13 places lower than the previous campaign.

The Catalonian team’s pre-season build-up has been positive, recording comfortable wins over Olot (5-0), Alaves (1-0), and Wolves (2-1), although recent tests against stronger sides ended in defeat (3-2 vs Napoli and 2-0 vs Marseille).

Legendary Uruguayan striker Cristhian Stuani netted a brace against Napoli and looks likely to start up top against one of his favourite opponents.  But Michel faces a selection headache with four notable absentees, including midfielder Donny van de Beek and striker Abel Ruiz.

Visitors may struggle to score

Inigo Perez’s visitors will miss only Abdul Mumin (ACL injury) from their regular squad. Rayo have had a low-key pre-season — a draw with Genk (1-1), a thumping victory over Zwolle (5-0), and a close loss to West Brom (3-2) were followed by a superb 3-0 win at Sunderland last weekend.

But the Black Cats deployed a heavily rotated side after facing Augsburg the day before, so that result perhaps should not count for as much as Girona’s 2-1 home win over a much-stronger Wolves side. Rayo Vallecano scored fewer goals than Girona last season, despite earning 11 points more, and this clash could be decided by which team makes the most of few chances.

With temperatures at kick-off likely to be around 35°C, this could be a low-tempo affair with few goals. Girona look poised to start the new campaign on the front foot, however, with home advantage and a solid pre-season under their belt.