FC Barcelona (1st, 63pts) vs Girona FC (13th, 34pts)
Competition/Round: 2024-25 La Liga, Matchday 29
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Marc-André ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen, Marc Casadó, Dani Olmo, Marc Bernal (out), Frenkie de Jong (doubt)
Girona Outs and Doubts: Donny Van de Beek, Bryan Gil, Jhon Solís, Iván Martín, Ricard Artero (out), Abel Ruiz, Oriol Romeu (doubt)
Date/Time: Sunday, March 30, 2025, 4.15pm CET (Barcelona), 3.15pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 10.15am ET, 7.15am PT (USA), 7.45pm IST (India)
Venue: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Montjuïc, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Referee: Juan Luis Pulido Santana
VAR: Jorge Figueroa Vázquez
How to watch on TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), Premier Sports 2 (UK), SuperSport (Nigeria), others
How to watch online: ESPN+ (USA), LaLigaTV (UK), GXR World (India), DAZN (Spain), others
Following a solid win over Osasuna in their forced early return from the international break in midweek, Barcelona continue their hectic schedule with a Sunday afternoon La Liga clash with local rivals Girona at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium.
Barça come into this one looking to restore their three-point lead at the top of the table after Real Madrid’s win on Saturday, and the Catalans are also aware that there’s a monster Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Atlético Madrid to come on Wednesday which makes Sunday’s derby a very tricky proposition.
The Blaugrana will be big favorites on paper, especially given Girona’s troubles this season: after a dream campaign last year they could not handle the losses of key players in the transfer market and have struggled both in La Liga and in the Champions League, and not even the excellent coaching of Míchel could overcome the expanded schedule and the many injuries his squad has suffered this season.
Girona have won just twice in 2025 and are currently on a six-game winless streak in the league, and they come into this derby missing several key pieces due to injury. This is a very different team from the one that wiped the floor with Xavi’s Barça at Montjuïc last season, and they have already been dominated once this season by Hansi Flick’s team, who were simply brilliant from start to finish and won 4-1 with authority at Montilivi back in October.
But anyone expecting a walk in the park should probably temper their expectations: Barça are in the middle of a wild schedule, and Flick might rotate his squad just a little bit to save his strongest team for the trip to Madrid in the Cup. Girona have nothing to lose and badly need a result to avoid any relegation fears, and Míchel’s side will certainly present a real challenge.
Barça cannot expect a weaker version of Girona and must treat them like any local rival in a derby game: a really tough opponent who wants nothing more than to cause a major upset in the Catalan capital. Expect a hard-fought game, one in which the Blaugrana must be clinical and sharp to get all three points.
Let’s dance.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Fort, Araujo, Cubarsí, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Raphinha, Gavi, Fermín; Lewandowski
Girona (4-3-3): Gazzaniga; Arnau, López, Krejci, Blind; Herrera, Arthur, Miguel; Tsigankov, Miovski, Danjuma
PREDICTION
Girona have had a very tough season and are missing several key pieces, but a local derby is still never easy. However, I’m still trusting the home team to get the job done in a close one: 2-1 to the good guys.