Girona vs Valladolid Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

La Liga 2018/19 gets under way with this Friday’s match in Catalonia, as new boys Real Valladolid travel to last season’s surprise package Girona. The fixture should give us the first real clues as to whether the visitors will be able to compete at this level and also tell us something about which direction Girona are moving in under new management.

Coach Pablo Machin left for Sevilla in the summer having guided Girona to a top half finish in their first ever season in La Liga. That’s clearly a blow but they’ve made a decent appointment in the shape of Eusebio. He brought entertainment and European football to Real Sociedad, eclipsing what all of his recent predecessors had achieved and while things didn’t quite go to plan last term, he is capable of maintaining Girona’s bright start to life in the top flight, although clearly they are tough boots to fill.

As for Real Valladolid, they came up via the Segunda Division play-offs to end a four year absence from the top flight. That actually represents the longest they’ve been out of La Liga since the 1970’s but they have been something of a yo-yo club this century and they do start the new season as one of the favourites for the drop.

There is good reason for that too. Defensively they were pretty poor last term and finished with the worst defensive record in the top half of the Segunda Division. Their signings don’t look to have massively rectified that problem, with limited funds spent in preparation for their return to the top flight. Just as worryingly, they’ve also lost their 33-goal top scorer Jaime Mata on a free to Getafe and he was the principal reason for their promotion last term.

Their pre-season form has been reasonable but they’ve not faced any genuinely tough tests and they will do well to get a result here. Girona by contrast have looked very good in the weeks leading up to the new campaign with an impressive 4-1 win over Tottenham the highlight. Their squad is very similar to what it was last year, with the likes of Johan Mojica converting loan deals into permanent moves so they have quite a settled team and providing Eusebio doesn’t try to change too much, they should hit the ground running.

They reeled off six straight home wins to nil at one stage last term and while their form dipped towards the end of the campaign, that was largely a result of them having little left to play for due to their safe mid-table position. They should be really up for this and with considerably more quality than the newly promoted side, backing Girona to Win looks like the best move here.