A club that was recently competing in the Champions League is now fighting relegation in its own stadium when FC Girona welcomes Atlético Madrid to the Estadio Municipal de Montilivi on Sunday. Míchel’s team is third from bottom in 18th place with 15 points and a goal difference of minus 15, level on points with Valencia and only five points ahead of bottom-placed Oviedo, while Simeone’s team is in 4th place, one point behind Villarreal and four ahead of Espanyol. The pressure on Girona is palpable, with the start of the season falling well short of expectations for a club that has just been on the Champions League stage. At least they have lost only once in their last five league games and recently celebrated their first away win of the season at Real Sociedad, coming from behind to win 2-1 thanks to a brace from Tsygankov. At the same time, the board is tightening the budget and planning an active January to strengthen the squad. Atlético, on the other hand, travel in better spirits after three consecutive wins in all competitions against PSV, Valencia, and Atlético Baleares, with Griezmann as the decisive factor and Hancko and Pubill gaining influence in the absence of Giménez, Lenglet, and Llorente, responding to a previously worrying dip in form in the league. In head-to-head matches, almost everything points to Simeone’s team, with four wins in the last five encounters and a 4-0 win in Girona in May, and the bookmakers once again see Atlético Madrid as the clear favorites for this match.
- Venue: Estadio Municipal de Montilivi, Girona
- Date and time: December 21, 2025, 2:00 p.m.
- Competition: La Liga (Matchday 17)
Girona appear vulnerable defensively, Ounahi and Abel Ruiz are missing, the team has few solutions, but Tsygankov’s rise in form ensures that they usually score at least once, so the combination of Atlético Madrid to win and both teams to score: Yes is a good bet. Simeone’s team, strongly supported by Hancko and Griezmann, often decides many matches late in the game, which is why Over 1.5 goals – 2nd half is a logical addition, especially since Atlético’s games have often become more open after the break recently.
Girona Form & Record Check
Girona reaches matchday 17 in La Liga in a fragile situation, third from bottom with 15 points and a goal difference of minus 15, level on points with Valencia directly above them and only five points ahead of bottom club Oviedo. The margin for error is correspondingly small for a club that is still coming off a Champions League season. They have managed just one win in their last five league games, the most recent being a 2-1 comeback victory at Real Sociedad, which Tsygankov decided with a brace. Prior to that, they drew at Betis and at home against Real Madrid, results that look decent on their own but are not enough in this situation. The 3-0 collapse in Elche and the 2-1 cup defeat at Ourense ruthlessly exposed their defensive weaknesses and lack of control. The patterns behind these results are striking: four of the last five second halves have been lost, and in each of these games the team conceded goals after the break. The first halves usually remain tight and low-scoring, but then the structure breaks down and manageable games turn into open, frantic affairs, possibly a combination of physical breakdowns, a short bench, and nervousness. Individually, Tsygankov now carries much of the offensive load, his four goals and one assist since returning from injury giving Girona a clear reference point in attack. Around him, Ounahi is missing due to national team duty, while Van de Beek, Portu, Abel Ruiz, and Stuani are out. Asprilla has not yet taken his chance, so Míchel has to work with a very narrow rotation that struggles to maintain intensity over 90 minutes. Despite their position in the table, there are signs of a slight recovery, with the win at Anoeta breaking a frustrating spell and fueling the internal message of “hi som, we are here.” The board is preparing for a busy winter to strengthen the squad, but in the short term, everything depends on finally translating competitive first halves into complete games and limiting the usual slump after the break.
Girona are expected to line up in a 4-2-3-1, with Livakovic in goal behind a back four of Arnau, Reis, Blind, and Moreno. In this predicted starting eleven, Witsel and Martín form the double six, which should provide balance so that the three attacking midfielders can move freely. Tsygankov is likely to start on the right after his recent rise in form, with Lemar in the center and Gil on the left. Up front, this projection points to Vanat as the lone striker, as both Ruiz and Stuani are unavailable. The long-term absences of Portu and Van de Beek, as well as Ounahi on international duty, leave Míchel with few alternatives between the lines, so Asprilla and Solís could remain on the bench as super-sub options. This is a preliminary, unconfirmed starting lineup, so minor adjustments are possible before kickoff.
Atletico Form & Record Check
Atlético travels to Girona with mixed but improving La Liga form. Two consecutive defeats at Barcelona and Athletic Club knocked them out of the title race and left them nine points behind the leaders, but the 2-1 win against Valencia has calmed the situation somewhat. Atlético are fourth in the table with 34 points, one point behind Villarreal and four ahead of Espanyol, a useful but by no means comfortable cushion, as already indicated in the overview. Across all competitions, they have won three of their last five games, each of which was a hard-fought contest with at least two goals, but without a single clean sheet. The 3-2 win at PSV and the narrow 3-2 win at Atlético Baleares, where Musso shone and the hosts missed a penalty, show a team that struggles to decide games early on. The 2-1 win against Valencia was also more of a slog than a spectacle. Koke put Atlético ahead, but after the break they lost control at times, and it was only Griezmann, coming off the bench, who secured the points with a strong finish after a pass from Pubill, symbolic of a league form that is effective enough but knows long periods without rhythm. The defeats at Barcelona, 3-1, and Athletic Club, 1-0, continue to weigh on the team’s image, putting an end to their title dreams and showing how quickly Atlético can get into trouble when their defense is too open. Without the injured Giménez and Lenglet, as well as Marcos Llorente, who is also missing, Simeone relies heavily on Hancko, Ruggeri, Pubill, and the consistently deployed Barrios to ensure stability. In build-up play, the structure has developed into a more proactive defensive line, with Hancko acting as a fixed point on the left, moving inside, creating chances and scoring a goal against PSV, among other things, while Pubill took advantage of his opportunity on the right with an assist for Griezmann against Valencia. In front of them, Griezmann, Sorloth, and Raspadori provide variability and presence in the penalty area. The numbers underscore the volatility, with none of the last five games ending in a draw, four of them producing at least three goals, Atlético scoring in four of those games but conceding at least one goal in all five. They have never been behind at halftime in this run, but every second half has seen them concede at least one goal, which fits well with the impression that they rarely close out games with authority.
Interestingly, Atlético are expected to stick with their familiar 4-4-2, very similar to the formation that beat Valencia. A predicted starting eleven would see Oblak in goal, with Molina, Pubill, Hancko, and Ruggeri in defense, Barrios and Koke as the directing midfielders, Simeone and González on the wings, and a striking duo with Sorloth as the reference striker alongside the more mobile Alvarez. In defense, the injuries to Giménez and Lenglet, as well as Llorente’s thigh problem, will likely force a lineup in which Hancko and Pubill form the center-back pairing, Ruggeri moves inside when needed, and Molina provides width on the right. Cardoso has been limited by injuries this season, so Griezmann, Baena, and Almada could be the main alternatives from a very competitive bench in this predicted lineup, again with the caveat that this is not a confirmed starting XI.
Girona – Atletico Head-to-Head & Statistics
Atlético Madrid has clearly had the upper hand in the last five head-to-head matches, with four wins and one victory for Girona and no draws. The most recent match in May 2025 was the most decisive, a 4-0 away win that completed a series of three consecutive Atlético victories. Across these last three encounters, the overall goal difference is 10-1, highlighting the one-sided trend. Girona’s only win during this period came at home in 2024, a 4-3 victory that, in retrospect, seems like an exception. Since then, Atlético has tightened its grip, winning the next two home games in 2024 by 3-1 and 3-0, a pattern that suggests that once Atlético was established, Girona struggled to replicate its own offensive momentum against an increasingly confident opponent. The distribution of goals after the break is also striking, with Atlético largely dominating the second halves, scoring in all five games after the break, and Girona never able to outscore them in this period, losing the second half in four of these games. Four of the five encounters produced at least three goals in total, so this pairing is rarely close. In Girona, the three most recent encounters ended 0-1, 4-3, and 0-4, averaging about four goals per game, and in two cases, Atlético scored at least three goals. The visitors are traveling with a three-game winning streak behind them, while Girona goes into the next match with the visible burden of breaking both the goal and result trends.
