Depleted Girona hoping for strong support in Real Sociedad battle

Girona coach Michel is counting on the club’s fans to give his depleted team a much-needed boost when they host Real Sociedad in LaLiga on Saturday.

Girona ended a six-game winless streak across all competitions by beating Athletic Bilbao prior to the international break, but they have lost several key players to injury.

Pau Lopez, Yaser Asprilla, Bryan Gil and Daley Blind are among those to be sidelined ahead of a gruelling run of fixtures prior to the November international break, including two Champions League matches against Slovan Bratislava and PSV.

“We have seven games in 21 days and we are short of players. We will have to call up five players from our youth academy for tomorrow’s match,” Michel said on Friday.

“Sociedad have a great squad and should fight to be at the top, but I also think the same about us.

“It’s important that the fans are with us, I didn’t like the way they booed us the other day [against Athletic].

“My players fight for every ball and they deserve to wear the Girona shirt. I hope the stadium will be full, we need it very much in such a historic season.”

Ready for tomorrow pic.twitter.com/O40RPRn6w2

— Girona FC (@GironaFC_Engl) October 18, 2024

Backed by the wealth of their Abu Dhabi owners, Girona went toe-to-toe with Real Madrid in the title race last season, beating Barcelona twice before finishing third and qualifying for European football for the first time.

However, they have struggled this term with only three wins in all competitions, suffering losses to Feyenoord and Paris Saint-Germain in their first two Champions League matches.

Michel said: “We have players with personality and character. They also have a special motivation to be here.

“I’m worried about injuries because of the calendar… There’s the Copa del Rey, two Champions League games, LaLiga… I’m worried, of course, but it is what it is.

“The players do everything in their power to make our fans proud of them. That’s why I think that together we are stronger and at home we need the fans to be our 12th player.”