When the La Liga fixture list was announced in the summer, few would have expected this Matchday 16 clash between Barcelona and Girona to be second against third in the league.
It's current Spanish champions Barca who sit in third, with four draws and a loss creating a four-point divide between them and current leaders Real Madrid.
Girona have been one of the major surprise packages in European football so far this season, spending some time at the top of the table ahead of Madrid.
Here's preview of Barcelona vs Girona in La Liga this weekend.
Country
TV channel/live stream
United Kingdom
LaLigaTV, Viaplay Sports 2, Viaplay UK
United States
ESPN+, ESPN Deportes
Canada
TSN+
Barca have had plenty of injuries to deal with this season, just like most clubs around Europe juggling congested fixture lists. The latest major blow is to Marc-Andre ter Stegen, with the German goalkeeper ruled out for two to three months after undergoing back surgery.
Gavi is out for the season, while this game will come too soon for Marcos Alonso who is expected to return later in December. Inigo Martinez is also unavailable and won't be back until the new year.
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Girona (4-3-3):Pena; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Cancelo; De Jong, Gundogan, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Felix.
Girona were in midweek action in a Copa del Rey tie against Orihuela. Despite being 2-1 down at half-time, they rallied and won the game 5-2 to keep their momentum going.
Borja Garcia has a chance of returning for the visit to Barcelona, but Yangel Herrera and Toni Villa are both injured and will play no part.
Girona predicted lineup vs Barcelona (3-4-2-1):Gazzaniga; E. Garcia, Lopez, Blind; Tsygankov, Torre, A. Garcia, Gutierrez; Portu, Savio; Stuani.
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