On matchday 20 of the 2024/25 Spanish top flight season, Catalonia and Andalusia will go to war on a football pitch when Girona FC hosts Sevilla FC.
This La Liga clash could be Sevilla’s seventh-straight head-to-head loss to Girona, which would be an incriminating and embarrassing record for the seven-time UEFA Europa League winners. Before getting relegated to the Segunda in the 2018/19 season, the Blanquivermells managed a 1-0 win against Sevilla. Since returning to LaLiga in the 2022/23 season after two years in the Spanish second division, Girona have beaten Sevilla every time they have met.
Their 2024/25 season matchday 3 clash increased the aggregate score to 14 – 2 in favour of Girona, which is quite a large margin for Sevilla to be losing to a team that they are historically stronger and better than.
It did not look like Sevilla would lose at home on matchday 3, however, because Isaac Romero ensured that Los Nervionenses started brightly. The striker forced Paulo Gazzaniga to produce a fine stop in the opening minutes of the match before drilling another effort just wide of the far post. The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán erupted in cheers and applause and began to make noise in support of their team. However, those would prove to be Sevilla’s best moments of the game in the first half because Michel’s team would go into the halftime break in front.
Midfielder Iván Martín had the simple task of tapping home from close range after wonderful work from Miguel Gutiérrez, who squared a pass across goal. Almost immediately, summer signing Chidera Ejuke would put the ball in the back of the net but the celebrations at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán were cut short by the assistant’s raised flag.
In the second half, Michel introduced Arnaut Danjuma for his debut since signing for Girona on deadline day of the summer transfer window, alongside other faces. That rejuvenated their attack and soon, the Villarreal loanee made his first headline in a Girona shirt. Just after the hour mark, he spurned the chance to double their advantage by blazing over a rebound after Abel Ruiz had crashed his header against the crossbar.
The Sevilla fans started to turn on their team and their sorrows deepened when the referee awarded Girona a spot-kick following a lengthy VAR review. Romero, who was almost their hero in the opening stages of the game, was penalised for handling Girona man Alejandro Francés’ drilled cross into Sevilla’s penalty area. Ruiz stepped up and sent Gazzaniga the wrong way from the penalty spot to double the visitors’ lead.
Ejuke, who had a goal ruled out in the first half, tried to muster a comeback for his new team but Gazzaniga was alert to stop his powerful drive. That would turn out to be their last chance of note as Girona saw out the game for their sixth-straight win over Sevilla.
Matchday 3 was also the first of two clashes between both clubs in the 2024/25 season, which means that Girona could also do the unthinkable and defeat Sevilla twice in one LaLiga season for three straight seasons.
García Pimienta has survived this long at the helm of the club after a terrible start to the season. Now, he is not that far from Michel, whose team has regressed. This would be an important game for both managers and their targets for the season.
Read on for information on the match tickets and more!
Match tickets
The Montilivi Stadium is the venue for this match which is scheduled for 19 January 2025. This means Girona are the hosts and they will be looking to complete the double over the Andalusian side for the first time in three straight top flight football seasons.
Girona FC vs Sevilla FC tickets are already on sale on either club’s website which means that fans will have to register their interest early enough if they intend to secure seats at the stadium that day. The tickets will also be carried by the club’s other official channels and platforms, as well as their authorised partner platforms, whether offline or online. Using those channels also requires early indication because of the expected rush for tickets.
Fans can also get their Girona FC tickets or their Sevilla FC tickets on ticket resale websites where fans go to exchange tickets they do not want for cash or other tickets that they do want. This is the best place to get tickets for non-registered fans of either club, non-local fans of either club, neutral fans who just want to enjoy a game of football at the Montilivi and tourists in Seville who want to experience football for the first time.
This matchday 20 fixture will be played on Saturday 19 January 2025. The kickoff time will be on the matchday tickets.
Team news
The hosts and the visitors are busy in the transfer window to ensure that their squads are ready for the second half of the season.
Girona FC are suffering from their success from last season because they have been unable to match the achievements that took them to the UEFA Champions League. The challenging schedule has overwhelmed them and it has led to a drop in their league performances. Sevilla, meanwhile, were not able to return to Europe following their UEFA Europa League win in 2022/23 and their exit from the Champions League in 2023/24.
A lot of their struggles are down to personnel which makes their foray into the January transfer window an important one for both clubs. However, we do not expect to see any debutants in the match as it is still too close to the opening of the transfer window.
As far as the squads are concerned, Girona are injury-free. All their injured players are back and slowly getting their match fitness improved with minutes leading up to their clash with Sevilla. Los Nervionenses meanwhile, are still pondering over the fitness of Nigerian winger Chidera Ejike, who has been a revelation for them since joining from Royal Antwerp in Belgium, where he spent the 2023/24 season on loan from CSKA Moscow. He has been out of commission with a hamstring injury since late September and only just returned to training in January. Ørjan Nyland and Tanguy Nianzou are ruled out because of injuries.
Line-ups
Here are our predictions for both teams’ starting XIs.
Girona FC: Gazzaniga; Gutierrez, Krejci, López, Martinez; Romeu, Martin; Danjuma, van de Beek, Gil; Ruiz.
Sevilla FC: Fernandez; Carmona, Marcão, Salas, Pedrosa; Gudelj, Sambi Lokonga; Lukebakio, Sanchez, Idumbo; Romero.
Prediction
This is a tough game to call—much tougher than it would have been around October or November 2024. Both teams are not too far off each other in performance and personnel quality, which is why we predict an open game. Both goalkeepers will be busy like last time and the midfielders will have a serious go at each other for control. The winner will emerge from taking advantage of moments.
Girona FC 2- 2 Sevilla FC
