Barcelona will look to maintain their perfect start to the season when they make the short trip to Estadi Montilivi for Sunday's Catalan derby against Girona.

The Blaugrana are currently leading the way in La Liga, while the visitors head into the weekend in fifth position after taking seven points from four games.

Match preview

Girona are just days away from making their debut in UEFA competition after securing Champions League qualification via a third-placed finish last term.

The Blanquivermells will already be looking forward to travelling to the French capital for their opening clash against French giants Paris Saint-Germain.

However, Girona must negotiate a difficult fixture against an in-form Barcelona side before they can turn their full focus to their midweek trip to the Parc des Princes.

After experiencing a considerable turnover of players over the summer, a new-look Girona side experienced an underwhelming start to the season as they followed a 1-1 draw against Real Betis with a heavy 3-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid.

Michel's charges have since recovered from their slow start to dispatch Osasuna 4-0 at Montilivi, before they claimed a 2-0 away win over Sevilla thanks to goals from Ivan Martin and Abel Ruiz.

Girona will now be eyeing a third consecutive victory, and while they may be the underdogs, they will look to draw inspiration from the fact that they completed a league double over Barcelona last season.

After failing to win a trophy in Xavi's final season, there is pressure on Hansi Flick to oversee a significant improvement in his first season as a La Liga manager.

While Flick may be in the early stages of his tenure, Barcelona supporters have reason to be optimistic after seeing their side storm out of the blocks to record four consecutive victories.

The Blaugrana built momentum with three successive 2-1 wins over Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano, before they produced a dominant display to thrash newly-promoted Real Valladolid 7-0 in their final outing before the international break.

Raphinha netted a hat-trick alongside goals from Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres, with the result sending Barcelona into the international break with a four-point cushion at the top of the standings.

Including last season, the Blaugrana have now recorded eight successive victories, but they will be wary of the fact that their most recent league defeat took place in May's away meeting with Girona.

Prior to losing at Montilivi last season, Barcelona won each of their three La Liga away games against Girona without conceding, including a 1-0 win in January 2023 when Pedri scored the decisive goal for his side.

Team News

Girona remain without the injured duo of Ricard Artero and Jastin, while Oriel Romeu is ineligible to face his parent club due to a clause in his loan deal.

Yangel Herrera was unable to link up with Venezuela due to an adductor injury, but the midfielder is expected to be declared fit to start in the middle of the park against Barcelona.

Arnaut Danjuma made his Girona debut as a half-time substitute against Sevilla, and the Villarreal loanee is now pushing to earn his first start for Michel's side.

As for the visitors, Gavi recently returned to Barcelona training as he steps up his recovery from a serious knee injury that he sustained in November 2023.

Despite making good progress, the 20-year-old remains unavailable for selection and is joined on the sidelines by Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Frenkie de Jong and Marc Bernal.

Midfielder Fermin Lopez recently joined the injury list after he picked up a hamstring issue during a training session with the Spain Under-21 side.

Forward Ansu Fati is closing in on a return to action, but it appears unlikely that he will be risked for Sunday's away clash.

Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Frances, Lopez, Blind, Gutierrez; Tsygankov, Herrera, Martin, Gil; Ruiz, Danjuma

Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski

We say: Girona 1-2 Barcelona

Girona tend to be a strong force on home turf, and we think that they will give Barcelona a stern taste on Sunday, but we believe that the visitors will do enough to maintain their perfect start to the season and exact revenge for the two defeats they suffered against the Blanquivermells last term.

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