Important Facts
- Oviedo is 20th with 13 points, four points behind Levante; every home game feels like a final, while Girona, in tenth place with 25 points, has little breathing room.
- Oviedo has been waiting for a win for 14 league games and most recently lost 3-0 in Barcelona; in the last five games, the score was always tied at halftime.
- Girona is unbeaten in five league games, winning three times and salvaging a 1-1 draw against Getafe with a Reis header in stoppage time despite a weak second half.
- Oviedo is still without Ejaria and Rahim, while Bailly is back in training and Cazorla’s leadership remains important; Girona will have to do without Ounahi, van de Beek, Portu, and Stuani.
- In head-to-head matches, Girona is unbeaten in five games (three wins, two draws); all five matches had fewer than 1.5 goals before halftime, often with Girona’s late momentum.
- The odds reflect a close contest (Girona 2.8; draw 3.1), but the recurring low-scoring first halves of both teams support “Under 1.5 goals – 1st half.”
A 3-3 draw in October suddenly put this fixture in a different light, as Oviedo played surprisingly openly against the run of an otherwise rather tough series. Now Guillermo Almada’s Oviedo, 20th with 13 points, welcomes Míchel’s FC Girona, tenth with 25, to the Estadio Nuevo Carlos Tartiere on Saturday, January 31, for Matchday 22. Oviedo are four points behind Levante directly above them, so every home game feels like a must-win. Girona are level on points with Osasuna and only one point ahead of Elche – another indication of how fragile their comfortable position in the middle of the table still is. Oviedo seem shaken by the results, have been winless in the league for some time and are coming off a clear 0-3 defeat at Barcelona, a far cry from what their promotion momentum had promised. Bailly is back in training, Ejaria and Alhassane are still out, and unrest is brewing among the fans. Girona’s form has been more consistent recently, unbeaten in five league games and thanks to Reis’ late goal in stoppage time, they managed a 1-1 draw against Getafe. January signings ter Stegen, Beltrán, and Echeverri bring quality in possession, even with Ounahi and van de Beek missing.
- Venue: Estadio Nuevo Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo
- Date and time: January 31, 2026, 2:00 p.m.
- Competition: La Liga (Matchday 22)
The betting market sees it as a close contest: Girona is at 2.8, with a draw at 3.1. Oviedo’s streak of 14 games without a win, accompanied by fan unrest and the absence of Ejaria, makes the idea of “Girona wins” a value bet for some.
Oviedo form & record check
Oviedo’s league record is tightening the noose. They are in 20th place in the table with 13 points, Levante, their closest lifeline, is four points ahead, and the mood at the club is openly tense after fans criticized the season’s progress. Almada’s team continues to search for momentum, their winless streak has extended to 14 games, and suddenly every little mistake seems twice as serious. The last five La Liga appearances show this quite clearly: Barcelona beat them 3-0, a game that remained controllable until the second half, when carelessness and passive defending were punished. The 3-2 defeat at Osasuna brought more bite up front, but too little control in the decisive moments. The draws against Betis (1-1), Alaves (1-1), and Celta (0-0) were competitive but lacked punch. The pattern is also striking: Oviedo ended the first half of each of these five games with a draw, often with few goals before the break, but after the break, the tide often turned against them as late goals became an issue. Over the season, 11 goals scored and 34 conceded show how little room for error there is, and the fact that they have not won a half recently is a warning sign. There could be some small boosts in terms of personnel, but no easy cure: Bailly is back in training, a boost for a defense that lacks authority, while Rahim and Ejaria remain sidelined.
January signings Borbas, Fonseca, and loanee Thiago Fernández bring options, and Cazorla’s leadership remains central. Nevertheless, Almada’s idea of “defend forward” needs sharper execution, especially when games open up after the break.
Under Almada, Oviedo is expected to line up in a 4-2-3-1, with Escandell in goal and a back four of Ahijado, Costas, Carmo, and López. The duo of Sibo and Colombatto as double pivots should secure the center, allowing Hassan and Chaira to attack the wings and Reina to pull inside behind Viñas. This is only a prediction, but injuries could force Almada to make changes. Ejaria remains sidelined, and Rahim has been reported as injured after establishing himself as the left-back, which again points to López. Bailly has returned to training and could be in contention for minutes at center back, while Cazorla is the obvious playmaker for the final stages if Oviedo needs to calm things down.
Girona Form & Record Check
Girona travel to Oviedo with momentum behind them, having gone unbeaten in four league games since their 3-0 home defeat to Atlético Madrid. Míchel’s side won 2-1 at Mallorca, beat Osasuna 1-0 and Espanyol 2-0, before the 1-1 draw with Getafe felt more like a rescue mission. Reis’ header in stoppage time and ter Stegen’s final save masked a weaker second half. The pattern is now familiar: Girona often start cautiously, with the first halves remaining under 1.5 goals in four of their last five, but after the break, the games usually open up, with over 1.5 goals until the final whistle in the same proportion. They have scored in four of those five games, but defensive control comes and goes, especially when the pressing is overplayed and the midfield is stretched. Girona are 10th in the table with 25 points, level on points with Osasuna above them and only one point ahead of Elche, so the recent upturn has given them little breathing space, especially as their goal difference is minus 14. The January signings therefore look important: Beltrán brings rhythm, Echeverri provides sharpness between the lines, and ter Stegen improves the first pass. Ounahi, van de Beek, Portu, and Stuani remain unavailable.
Míchel is likely to stick with his familiar 4-2-3-1 formation against Girona, with ter Stegen once again starting behind a back four of Rincón, Reis, Blind, and Moreno. The idea should be the same as in recent league games, with patient build-up play from the goalkeeper and center backs, followed by quick shifts to stretch the block, especially via the fullbacks. With Ounahi still out, van de Beek also unavailable, and Juan Carlos not ready to play, the prediction is that Martín and Beltrán will form the double six, with Echeverri linking up play as the number ten. Tsygankov and Gil appear to be the most likely starters on the wings to feed Vanat in the box. Portu and Stuani are still unavailable, so Ruiz could be the most direct alternative up front.
Oviedo – Girona Head-to-Head & Statistics
Girona has the upper hand in the last five meetings, remaining unbeaten with three wins and two draws. The most recent game in October 2025 ended 3-3, a rare goal fest in this series. Before that, Girona won 2-1 in 2022 and also won 1-0 in 2021 and 2020, with a 0-0 draw in 2021. It is striking how little happens in the early stages: All five encounters remained below 1.5 goals in the first half, a streak of five games. Even more strikingly, the first half ended in a draw in three consecutive games, in 2020, 2021, and 2022, with these duels starting as tentative, information-gathering encounters rather than open exchanges of blows. Girona were usually the team with the stronger late momentum, scoring in the second half in four of the five games, while Oviedo conceded goals at the same rate after the break. Girona have also never lost the second half, which is in line with their general control of the result, while Oviedo have not managed a single win in regular time in this five-game sample. The total number of goals also remains manageable for the most part, with four of the five games ending with under 3.5 goals. The earlier series was particularly close, with three consecutive games in 2020, 2021, and 2022 ending with under 1.5 goals. October 2025 broke this pattern with a 3-3 draw, so even if the basic trend is low-scoring, that can change quickly if the first goal is scored early.
