Girona vs Real Betis Predictions

This Thursday’s clash in Catalonia has the makings of a really good contest between a Girona side that came close to a famous win at Camp Nou at the weekend and a Betis team which has high hopes for the season. Betis have had much the better of the recent meetings but they won’t find this easy against a Girona side that is finding their feet under new management.

They’ve taken 7 points from their last 3 matches and were 2-1 up away to Barcelona on Sunday evening, before Gerard Pique’s header rescued a point for the 10 man hosts. It was still an excellent result for Girona and they will be more than happy with their return of 8 points from 5 matches so far, given they’ve also already played Real Madrid and travelled to Villarreal.

Betis will be less content with their return of 6 points but they have responded pretty well to a shock 3-0 home defeat to Levante on the opening night. They haven’t lost in 5 games in all competitions since then but did have to come from 2-0 down to rescue a point against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend.

So far they’ve found goals relatively hard to come by but that isn’t really like them. Betis scored 1.58 goals per game on average last term, the 5th best record in the division. One of the few teams to better that was Eusebio’s Real Sociedad and the early signs suggest he is looking to make this Girona team quite attacking too. 3 of their last 4 games have produced over 3.5 goals in total, with both teams scoring in all those matches and it’s perhaps worth noting that the last time a Eusebio team hosted Betis, it ended in a 4-4 draw at the Anoeta last term.

Betis are perhaps receiving a bit more respect from opposing teams this season, which may in part explain their relative lack of goals and they have also had some tough opponents. This game should follow a different pattern as both sides will see it as a winnable fixture and Girona’s willingness to play positively against the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona suggests they will certainly do likewise here. Therefore an open contest seems highly likely and backing Both Teams to Score appeals.

Going for Cristhian Stuani to score anytime looks good. The Uruguayan front-man is fit again and has now bagged back-to-back braces for Girona. He averages a goal every 77 minutes in La Liga this term, following on from 21 league goals last term for the Catalan club.