Girona Thrash Osasuna in First Home Game, Ending Winless Start to the Season

Girona will attempt to claim their first La Liga win of the season when they welcome Osasuna to Estadi Montilivi on Thursday. Meanwhile, the visitors will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start, having taken four points from their first two matches.

Girona were the surprise package of the 2023-24 La Liga season, collecting 81 points from 38 matches to finish in third place and secure European qualification for the first time in their history. While they are now looking forward to competing in the Champions League, Girona will find it tough to replicate the lofty heights of last season, especially as they have seen a number of key players depart over the summer, including Savinho, Aleix Garcia, Yan Couto and Artem Dovbyk.

The Catalan side have made an effort to replace those that have departed, having made 10 additions during the course of the transfer window, but those signings have been unable to get Girona off to a fast start in La Liga. Michel's side began the campaign with a 1-1 away draw against Real Betis, before they slumped to a heavy 3-0 defeat in Sunday's clash with Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano.

The Blanquivermells will attempt to produce a positive response in their first home game of the season, with the hosts looking to produce the sort of performance that saw them win 15 of their 19 home league games last term (D2, L2). Meanwhile, Osasuna are competing in a La Liga campaign without Jagoba Arrasate at the helm for the first time since suffering relegation in 2016-17.

Vicente Moreno has been given the tough job of replacing the popular Arrasate, and he would have been fully aware of the importance of making a positive start following his brief spell at Almeria, where has was sacked after the first seven games of last season. Moreno has already managed to outperform his disappointing Almeria tenure, having seen his Osasuna side draw with Leganes before beating Arrasate's Mallorca at the weekend.

Ruben Garcia's 55th-minute strike proved enough to guide Osasuna to a 1-0 win over Mallorca, ensuring that they have now gone six league games without defeat since losing to Real Betis on May 5. After beginning his tenure with back-to-back home games, Moreno is now preparing to take charge of his first away match as Osasuna boss, and he will be hoping to guide Los Rojillos to their first competitive away win over Girona since June 2016.

Girona remain without the services of Ricard Artero and Jastin due to ankle and shoulder problems, while Valery is a doubt after sitting out the first two matches due to illness. Yaser Asprilla recently completed a €24m (£20.2m) move from Watford and is set to feature in the matchday squad for Thursday's contest, although he may have to settle for a place among the substitutes. Bojan Miovski could be presented with his first La Liga start after he came off the bench to make his Girona debut in Sunday's defeat to Atleti.

As for the visitors, they are expected to be without defender Ruben Pena and winger Kike Barja due to muscle and knee injuries respectively. Midfielder Iker Munoz has also been ruled out of Thursday's contest, having undergone an operation on a foot injury that he sustained in his brief substitute appearance against Mallorca. Moreno could be tempted to make a few changes to freshen up his side, with Juan Cruz, Pablo Ibanez and Moi Gomez among those who could be considered for starting spots.

Girona vs Osasuna: Team News and Predicted Lineups

Girona Possible Starting Lineup:

Gazzaniga; Martinez, Lopez, Blind, Gutierrez; Herrera, Romeu, Martin; Tsygankov, Portu, Miovski

Osasuna Possible Starting Lineup:

Herrera; Areso, Catena, Herrando, Cruz; Torro, Ibanez; Gomez, Oroz, Zaragoza; Budimir

Girona have experienced a difficult start to the new season, but after competing in two away games, they will now have home advantage in their favour, and we think that they will produce an improved display at Montilivi to claim a narrow win over Osasuna.

Girona Dominate Osasuna at Home

Girona were soundly beaten by Atletico Madrid at the weekend, and this result had caused some discontent among their supporters. However, they have bounced back in their first home of the season, defeating Osasuna 4-0 at Montilivi. Michel Sanchez’s side opened the scoring early on courtesy of Bryan Gil, who netted his first goal for the club since signing earlier this summer. Viktor Tsygankov’s cross was excellently volleyed home by the Tottenham Hotspur loanee.

It was Tsygankov that scored the second on 53 minutes. He collected the ball inside the penalty area, before finishing across Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera. Three minutes later, Abel Ruiz joined Gil in scoring his first goal for Girona. The Olympic gold medallist was set up by Yangel Herrera for his strike. In the 90th minute, a fourth was added by Cristhian Stuani, the club’s record scorer.

This result should see the feel-good factor return to Girona, whose Champions League opponents were also made known on Thursday. It could be a special season for the Catalans.

Girona vs Osasuna: Match Summary

Match ends, Girona 4, Osasuna 0.

Second Half

96' Second Half ends, Girona 4, Osasuna 0.

94' Alejandro Francés (Girona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

94' Foul by Iker Benito (Osasuna).

93' Attempt missed. Raúl García (Osasuna) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Iker Benito.

92' Oriol Romeu (Girona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

92' Foul by Raúl García (Osasuna).

91' Yáser Asprilla (Girona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

91' Foul by Pablo Ibáñez (Osasuna).

90' Fourth official has announced 6 minutes of added time.

89' Goal! Girona 4, Osasuna 0. Cristhian Stuani (Girona) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Donny van de Beek.

86' Offside, Osasuna. Raúl García is caught offside.

86' Foul by Alejandro Francés (Girona).

86' Juan Cruz (Osasuna) wins a free kick on the left wing.

85' Offside, Girona. Cristhian Stuani is caught offside.

84' Daley Blind (Girona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

84' Foul by Raúl García (Osasuna).

84' Substitution, Osasuna. Javi Martínez replaces Lucas Torró.

82' Corner, Girona. Conceded by Nacho Vidal.

81' Delay over. They are ready to continue.

81' Delay in match (Girona).

80' Substitution, Girona. Portu replaces Viktor Tsyhankov.

80' Substitution, Girona. Donny van de Beek replaces Bryan Gil.

79' Foul by Alejandro Francés (Girona).

79' Iker Benito (Osasuna) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

78' Attempt blocked. Alejandro Francés (Girona) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Miguel Gutiérrez.

76' Delay over. They are ready to continue.

74' Delay in match (Girona).

73' Substitution, Girona. Yáser Asprilla replaces Abel Ruiz.

68' Corner, Girona. Conceded by Lucas Torró.

67' Substitution, Osasuna. Iker Benito replaces Bryan Zaragoza.

66' Corner, Girona. Conceded by Rubén García.

64' Attempt missed. Abel Ruiz (Girona) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box misses to the right. Assisted by Daley Blind with a cross.

63' Substitution, Girona. Oriol Romeu replaces Yangel Herrera because of an injury.

63' Substitution, Girona. Cristhian Stuani replaces Bojan Miovski.

62' Delay over. They are ready to continue.

62' Delay in match because of an injury Yangel Herrera (Girona).

60' Foul by Yangel Herrera (Girona).

60' Moi Gómez (Osasuna) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

58' Substitution, Osasuna. Pablo Ibáñez replaces Aimar Oroz.

58' Substitution, Osasuna. Rubén García replaces Jon Moncayola.

57' Substitution, Osasuna. Raúl García replaces Ante Budimir.

57' Foul by Alejandro Francés (Girona).

57' Bryan Zaragoza (Osasuna) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

55' Goal! Girona 3, Osasuna 0. Abel Ruiz (Girona) right footed shot from the right side of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Yangel Herrera.

53' Foul by Yangel Herrera (Girona).

53' Aimar Oroz (Osasuna) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

52' Goal! Girona 2, Osasuna 0. Viktor Tsyhankov (Girona) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner.

49' Foul by Yangel Herrera (Girona).

49' Lucas Torró (Osasuna) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

47' Attempt missed. Viktor Tsyhankov (Girona) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left.

45' Daley Blind (Girona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

45' Foul by Ante Budimir (Osasuna).

45' Second Half begins Girona 1, Osasuna 0.

First Half

49' First Half ends, Girona 1, Osasuna 0.

47' Offside, Osasuna. Bryan Zaragoza is caught offside.

45' Attempt missed. Abel Ruiz (Girona) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Bryan Gil with a cross following a corner.

45' Fourth official has announced 4 minutes of added time.

44' Corner, Girona. Conceded by Alejandro Catena.

44' Daley Blind (Girona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

44' Foul by Aimar Oroz (Osasuna).

41' Attempt blocked. Bojan Miovski (Girona) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

40' Foul by Bojan Miovski (Girona).

40' Aimar Oroz (Osasuna) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

37' Offside, Girona. Miguel Gutiérrez is caught offside.

33' Goal! Girona 1, Osasuna 0. Bryan Gil (Girona) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Viktor Tsyhankov with a cross.

31' Delay over. They are ready to continue.

29' Delay in match (Girona).

29' Offside, Girona. Bojan Miovski is caught offside.

26' Foul by Abel Ruiz (Girona).

26' Lucas Torró (Osasuna) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

21' Corner, Girona. Conceded by Sergio Herrera.

21' Attempt saved. Bryan Gil (Girona) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner.

17' Viktor Tsyhankov (Girona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

17' Foul by Moi Gómez (Osasuna).

16' Foul by Yangel Herrera (Girona).

16' Aimar Oroz (Osasuna) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

13' Bryan Gil (Girona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.