The La Liga matchday 17 fixture between Girona and Atletico Madrid will take place on December 21 at the Montilivi Stadium. Girona – Atletico Madrid: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Girona
The Catalans are edging closer to finally escaping the relegation zone. A week ago Girona produced a somewhat surprising 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad, snapping a three-game winless run in La Liga (two draws, one defeat). Across the last 11 league rounds the side have suffered only three defeats, although they have managed just three wins in that period as well. Overall, Girona remain 18th mainly because of a disastrous start to the season; however, the team have grown in confidence and have now pulled level on points with two rivals, with other teams in the bottom half not far behind.
- Girona have conceded in eight of their last nine league matches.
- Their unbeaten home run in this competition now stands at five games (2 wins, 3 draws).
- The team have shipped 30 goals so far this season, the worst record in the division.
Predicted lineups for Girona vs Atletico Madrid
Girona (4-2-3-1): Paulo Gazzaniga – Arnau Martínez, Daley Blind, Vitor Reis, Alex Moreno – Axel Witsel, Ivan Martos – Viktor Tsyhankov, Bryan Gil, Azzedine Ounahi – Vladyslav Vanat.
The team will be without goalkeepers Juan Carlos Martín and Vladyslav Krapyvtsov, defender David López, midfielder Donny van de Beek, and forwards Abel Ruiz, Christian Stuani and Portu due to injury.
Atletico Madrid
At the start of December Atletico suffered back-to-back defeats in La Liga, having lost only one of their previous 16 league matches. Nevertheless, the side responded last week, securing an important 2-1 win over Valencia to halt the slide. Atletico remain behind Real Madrid and Barcelona but are now just one point behind Villarreal, who do, however, have two games in hand. The visitors have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last three league games, but across the season Atletico have conceded just 16 goals – the second-best defensive record after Villarreal (13).
- Atletico have scored in 18 of their last 19 league matches.
- The club are on a competitive run of nine matches in this competition (7 wins, 2 defeats).
- No more than two goals were scored in six of Atletico's last seven La Liga matches.
Predicted lineups for Girona vs Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid (4-4-2): Jan Oblak – Nahuel Molina, Marc Pubill, David Ganczko, Matteo Ruggeri – Pablo Barrios, Koke, Nicolas Gonzalez, Giuliano Simeone – Alexander Sørloth, Julián Álvarez.
Defenders José María Giménez and Clément Lenglet are unavailable through injury. The participation of midfielders Marcos Llorente and Alex Baena is doubtful.
Referee
Francisco Hernandez (Spain)
Matches – 8 (La Liga, 2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 20;
Average yellow cards per match – 2.5;
Red cards shown – 2;
Average fouls per match – 21;
Penalties – 50%.
Match prediction: Girona vs Atletico Madrid
Girona have gradually climbed out of the relegation zone. Since a difficult start, they have lost only three of their last 11 La Liga matches (3 wins, 5 draws), and all defeats in that run came away from home. Their five-game unbeaten streak at Montilivi (2 wins, 3 draws) will give them belief, but on Sunday they face a strong and awkward opponent. Historically Girona have taken points in just one of their last seven league meetings with Atletico, and last season they suffered two heavy defeats by a combined 0-7 scoreline.
Atletico began December with two straight league defeats but steadied the ship with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Valencia. Diego Simeone's side have won seven of their last nine league matches and have struggled only against Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao in that period.
On balance, the visitors should claim another three points here. Prediction – Atletico Madrid to win
* For each team, the starting lineup shown is from their previous match in this competition.
