Preview: Extremadura vs. Girona – prediction, team news, lineups

La Liga side Girona will travel to Estadio Francisco de la Hera for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey clash with fifth-tier Extremadura.

The visitors will be looking for a response in the first-round tie after falling to a narrow defeat in their recent away meeting with Las Palmas.

Match preview

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CD Extremadura have been an active club for just two years since they replaced the dissolved Extremadura UD in the summer of 2022.

The current iteration of Extremadura have clinched back-to-back promotions to seal a spot in the Tercera Federacion, where they have won four, drawing two and losing one of their eight league matches.

They have also progressed through three rounds of the national phase of the Copa Federación de España to seal a semi-final berth and a place in the first round of the Copa del Rey.

They will carry some momentum into Wednesday’s cup fixture after winning consecutive away matches against Llerenense and Arroyo to move into second place in Group 14 of the Tercera Federación.

Extremadura will now return to the Estadio Francisco de la Hera where they have lost just one of their six home matches this season, and they will hope home advantage can help them pull off an almighty upset in Wednesday’s Copa del Rey clash.

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After finishing in third place last season, Girona have been unable to match those unforgettable heights in the opening few months of the 2024-25 campaign.

Michel‘s side have struggled for consistency, having won four, drawn three and lost seven of their 14 matches in all competitions.

The most recent of those four victories took place in last Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Slovan Bratislava, with Miguel Gutierrez and Juanpe finding the net to fire Girona to their first-ever European win.

Unfortunately for Girona, they were unable to back up that historic moment in Saturday’s away La Liga meeting with Las Palmas, falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat to leave them in 13th place with 12 points to their name.

The Catalan side will be the obvious favourites for the midweek Copa del Rey, but they have struggled on the road in recent times, having drawn one and lost three of their previous four competitive away matches

Extremadura (all competitions) form:

Girona form (all competitions):

Team News

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Juanmi Callejon, the twin brother of former Real Madrid winger Jesus Callejon, is expected to feature in the starting lineup, and he will look to provide one of Extremadura’s main attacking threats.

In the defensive third, goalkeeper David Pinto could be shielded by a back four of Samu Hurtado, Alex Murillo, Carlos Fernandez and Tala.

As for Girona, Michel is having to cope with a lengthy injury list which includes Oriol Romeu, Ricard Artero, Jastin, Jhon Solis, Cristian Portu, Ivan Martin and Bryan Gil.

Pau Lopez, Viktor Tsygankov, Abel Ruiz and Yaser Asprilla are also set to miss Wednesday’s Copa del Rey tie.

Defender Alejandro Frances is another injury concern after he was forced off in the first against Las Palmas due to a hamstring issue.

Despite the numerous injury issues, Michel is set to make wholesale changes, with Juanpe, Raul Martinez, Papa Ba and Kim Min-su among those who could be considered for a starting place

Extremadura possible starting lineup:
Pinto; Hurtado, Murillo, Fernandez, Tala; Diaz, Nunez, Gueye, Callejon; Bernal, Izquierdo

Girona possible starting lineup:
Garcia; Martinez, Juanpe, Blind, Gutierrez; Clua, Martinez; Ba, Misehouy, Ba; Stuani

We say: Extremadura 0-3 Girona

While Girona may be dealing with an injury crisis, we still believe they will have far too much quality for their fifth-tier opponents, which is why we expect the hosts will ease to a relatively comfortable victory in Wednesday’s Copa del Rey clash.

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