High-flying La Liga leaders Barcelona will hope to extend their lead atop the table and conclude a successful January with victory when they travel to promoted side Girona in a Catalan derby matchup.
Barcelona won the Supercopa de Espana and advanced to the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, and they can assure themselves of finishing the first half of the La Liga season on top of the league with a win.
It’s the start of an important week in the title race for Barcelona, with three league matches in eight days: away at Real Betis (Wednesday, Feb. 1) and home against Sevilla (Sunday, Feb. 5) to come.
Girona, back in La Liga for the first time since 2018/19, have enjoyed a solid start to the season in their bid to avoid the drop back down to the second division. They sit in 12th place – four points from the relegation zone – and have played well, including earning a draw at Real Madrid.
Girona have lost just one of their last eight La Liga matches. That defeat came via a controversial stoppage-time penalty kick last week at Villarreal.
Sporting News is following the Girona vs. Barcelona match live and providing live score updates, commentary.
MORE: Barcelona’s fixtures and results in 2022/23
Girona vs Barcelona live score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| Girona | — | — | — |
| Barcelona | — | — | — |
Goals:
None
Girona vs Barcelona live updates, highlights from La Liga
120 mins from kickoff: Since losing 3-1 at Real Madrid on October 16, Barcelona have won six of their seven Liga matches, keeping clean sheets in all of those victories.
The exception was Joselu’s 73rd-minute penalty to earn Espanyol a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou on New Year’s Eve.
130 mins from kickoff: Here’s what the Montilivi pitch looked like this morning. Low overnight temperatures meant it was frozen to start the day. They expect it to be fine for play as the temperature rises throughout the day.
🥶 ¡¡PERO QUÉ FRÍOOO!! 🥶
❄️ Las bajas temperaturas llegan al fútbol…¿y pueden condicionar el encuentro?
🏟️ Así ha amanecido Montilivi en la jornada en la que se juega el #GironaBarça 👇https://t.co/RXEPkgyHaR
— Diario SPORT (@sport) January 28, 2023
140 mins from kickoff: The match is a Catalan derby and Barcelona haven’t tasted defeat in one of those for some time.
Barcelona have not lost a Catalan derby in LaLiga since 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟵 📍 pic.twitter.com/GE2Jm4TcEW
— LiveScore (@livescore) January 28, 2023
150 mins from kickoff: Barcelona will be donning new threads for the Catalan derby.
🚨 Shirt Alert 🚨
Barcelona release their new Nike Catalan fourth shirt.
‘…featuring the Catalan senyera flag on the chest and taking inspiration from the captain’s armband.’
It will be worn for the first time in the Catalan Derby this weekend. pic.twitter.com/xbYXepLhWO
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) January 27, 2023
MORE: Updated La Liga standings | La Liga top scorers
Girona vs Barcelona lineups
Girona manager Michel will have to do without one of his best defenders as centre-back Santi Bueno sits out due to suspension. Another decision he faces is whether to field Ivan Martin or Toni Villa at right wing. Brazilian attacker Reinier, defensive midfielder Ibrahima Kebe, and centre-back David Lopez are still out injured.
Girona projected starting lineup (4-5-1, left to right): 13-Paulo Gazzaniga (GK) — 4-Arnau Martinez, 15-Juanpe, 2-Bernardo Espinosa, 3-Miguel Gutierrez — 23-Ivan Martin, 14-Aleix Garcia, 18-Oriol Romeu, 21-Yangel Herrera, 17-Rodrigo Riquelme — 9-Valentin ‘Taty’ Castellanos
Girona subs (12): 1-Juan Carlos (GK), 26-Toni Fuidias (GK), 16-Javi Hernandez, 25-Alexander Callens, 34-Biel Farres, 20-Yan Couto, 12-Toni Villa, 24-Borja Garcia, 7-Cristhian Stuani, 11-Valery Fernandez, 8-Viktor Tsygankov, 33-Joel Roca
Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres will be out for Barcelona, serving the final match in their respective suspension. Teenage academy player Angel Alarcon was named to the squad in their absence. The latest reports also confirm that Pedri will be in the squad against Girona, but it’s unclear whether he will start after taking a knock to the knee in the midweek Copa del Rey match.
Barcelona projected starting lineup (4-3-3, left to right): 1-Marc-Andre ter Stegen (GK) — 20-Sergi Roberto, 23-Jules Kounde, 17-Marcos Alonso, 18-Jordi Alba — 19-Franck Kessie, 5-Sergio Busquets, 21-Frenkie De Jong — 22-Raphinha, 10-Ansu Fati, 7-Ousmane Dembele
Barcelona subs (11): 13-Inaki Pena (GK), 31-Ander Astralaga (GK), 2-Hector Bellerin, 15-Andreas Christensen, 4-Ronald Araujo, 24-Eric Garcia, 28-Alejandro Balde, 30-Gavi, 8-Pedri, 32-Pablo Torre, 38-Angel Alarcon
MORE: Latest Barcelona transfer news
Girona vs Barcelona live stream, TV channel
The match takes place at the sold-out Estadio Municipal Montilivi, where Girona have lost just two of their nine matches this season (vs. Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad). They have not suffered defeat at home since October 2.
This is only the third trip to the stadium for Barcelona, who have won on each of their previous two visits.
| Date | Time | TV Channel | Streaming | |
| Australia | Sun, Jan. 8 | 02:15 AET | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | Sat, Jan. 7 | 10:15 ET | TSN4 | TSN GO, TSN site/app |
| Hong Kong | Sat, Jan. 7 | 23:15 HKT | Now Sports 2 | Now Player, M Plus site/app |
| India | Sat, Jan. 7 | 20:45 IST | Sports18 | Sports18, JioTV |
| Malaysia | Sat, Jan. 7 | 23:15 MYT | beIN Sports | beIN Sports Connect, sooka |
| New Zealand | Sun, Jan. 8 | 04:15 NZST | — | beIN Sports Connect |
| Singapore | Sat, Jan. 7 | 23:15 SST | beIN Sports | beIN Sports Connect, Star Hub Sports+ |
| UK | Sat, Jan. 7 | 15:15 BST | — | LaLigaTV |
| USA | Sat, Jan. 7 | 10:15 ET | ESPN Deportes | fuboTV, ESPN+ |
UK: The match will be exclusively available on LaLigaTV.
USA: The Girona vs. Barcelona match will be televised on ESPN Deportes which is streamed on fuboTV. It will also be streamed in English and Spanish on ESPN+.
Canada: TSN holds TV and streaming rights for La Liga in Canada. The Girona vs. Barcelona match will be televised on TSN4 and streaming on TSN’s online platforms.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream all La Liga matches live and on demand on Optus Sport.
