Preview: Tenerife vs Girona – prediction, team news, line-ups

Tenerife and Girona will face off in the second leg of the Segunda Division playoff finals on Sunday night, with the tie easily tied after a goalless first leg draw.

Girona defeated Eibar 2-1 in the playoff semi-finals to advance to this stage, while Tenerife navigated past Las Palmas to record a 3-1 aggregate win.

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Tenerife have been absent from La Liga since the 2009/10 season and played in both 2011/12 and 2012/13 in Segunda B, but they have been in the second division for the last nine seasons.

Luis Miguel RamísFinished fifth in the Segunda Division regular season and accumulated 69 points from their 42 games, finishing the season one point ahead of Real Oviedo in seventh place.

Las Palmas were their opponents in the play-off semi-finals and Tenerife won 1-0 in the first leg on home soil before winning 2-1 away to secure a 3-1 aggregate win.

Tete will have settled for a goalless draw against Girona in the first leg as they now have home advantage and the hosts will look to join already promoted Almeria and Real Valladolid in La Liga.

Tenerife had finished 11th, 16th, 12th and 14th in the Segunda Division for the last four seasons so their position in the playoffs is a surprise but they are unbeaten against Girona this season and have 2021-22 both League matches won between the two teams.

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Girona, meanwhile, finished sixth in the Segunda Division table to secure a place in the playoffs, taking 68 points from their 42 games, just ahead of Real Oviedo.

The Whites and Reds lost 1-0 at home to Eibar in the first leg of their playoff semi-final on 2 June, but were able to turn the tie in the second leg by winning 2-0 and securing a 2-1 aggregate success.

Girona last played in La Liga in 2018/19 and suffered relegation after finishing 18th in the table. They have been in the Segunda Division playoffs for the past three seasons.

MichaelThe Tenerife team only had the eighth-best away record in La Liga in the 2021/22 season, but Tenerife has also been inconsistent at home, boasting just the eleventh-best record in front of their own fans.

Girona have won just one of their last six games against Tenerife while they have not won away at the Canary Islands since February 2015, which is an indication of the magnitude of their task this weekend.

Tenerife Segunda division form:

Form of the Girona Segunda division:

Team News

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Tenerife will be without the services of again Pablo Larrea with a knee injury but the home side are otherwise in strong form and head into this weekend’s competition.

Head coach Ramis is expected to remain with the majority of the squad that took to the pitch to kick off the first leg, but there could be a change in attack Elady Zorrilla possibly replace Mario Gonzales.

Enric Gallego has scored 12 league goals in the 2021/22 season and the 35-year-old will be in the last third again Alex Bermejo should keep its place in the page.

As for Girona, Michel’s side didn’t report any injuries in the first leg, so the visitors are expected to have a full squad available for the second leg of the play-off final.

A 3-5-2 formation should be seen again Pol Lozano and Aleix Garcia Feature in midfield, with Arnau Martinez and Valery Fernandez in the full-back positions.

Cristian Stuani Meanwhile, he scored 23 league goals in a brilliant 2021-22 season and the 35-year-old will once again find himself in the bottom third of the field.

Tenerife possible starting line-up:
soriano; Moore, González, Leon, Mellot; Mollejo, Corredera, Sanz, Bermejo; Zorilla, Gallego

Girona possible starting line-up:
Carlos; Bueno, Espinosa, Juanpe; Martinez, Martin, Lozano, A. Garcia, Valery; Baena, Stuani

We say: Tenerife 1-2 Girona

Both teams are confident going into this game and we expect a close duel in the second leg. It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see Tenerife triumph, but we just have a feeling Girona will be in close competition to secure a return to Spain’s top flight for the 2022-23 season.

For data analysis of the most likely outcomes, goal scores and more for this game, please click here.

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