Barcelona vs Girona prediction, odds, betting tips and best bets for Monday La Liga match

Barcelona look to add to their lead atop the Spanish top flight as they host 11th-placed Girona at the Camp Nou in the Catalonia derby.

The Blaugrana were stunned by Real Madrid last time out, thumped in the Copa de Rey semifinals by a 4-0 scoreline to bow out of that competition. Yet they still lead the La Liga table by 12 points, and can extend that advantage to a nearly-unsurmountable 15 points with a victory today.

Robert Lewandowski leads the La Liga goal scoring table, but has a number of challengers nipping at his heels, and will hope to add to his total of 17 thus far on the campaign to pad his advantage.

The Sporting News football betting expert Kyle Bonn shares his best bets, props, and high risk/high return fliers for some of the biggest matches in the sport each week. Since the start of 2023, his best bets have hit 51.8% of the time, while his overall selections have generated a profit of over 35 units thus far. He has also correctly predicted 44 of 80 match outcomes via his 3-way moneyline leans to date.

Barcelona vs Girona match facts

• Date: Monday, April 10
• Kickoff Time: 3 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. BST / 5 a.m. AEST (Sat, Mar. 4)
• Location: Camp Nou (Barcelona, Spain)
• Official: Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz
• Last meeting: Girona 0-1 Barcelona (Jan. 28, 2023 | La Liga)

Barcelona vs Girona prediction, odds

• Moneyline lean: Barcelona (-350)
• Against the spread lean (handicap): Barcelona -1.5 (-130)
• Score prediction: Barcelona 2-0 Girona

Girona are capable of scoring plenty of goals, but in the likely absence of Aleix Garcia, their best playmaker by far, it will be difficult to find the back of the net against the league's best defensive unit. Barcelona have conceded just three league goals in 2023, a remarkable total which also underpins the low level of attacking talent across the Spanish league as a whole.

While Barcelona haven't exactly blown the doors off teams in the attacking half, this one should be elementary in feel, if not elementary on the scoreline.

Barcelona vs Girona betting tips

• Pick: Barcelona -1.5 goal handicap
• Odds: -130 (BetMGM)

Sure, Girona can score against most teams in the Spanish top flight, but this will be one-way traffic. Barcelona will control the tempo against Girona, a team which doesn't progress forward well. Despite holding over 51 percent possession in league matches this season, Girona have the third-fewest passes into the final third of any La Liga side, an indication their struggles in build-up, especially against strong defensive opponents.

Despite a weakened attack in the wake of Ousmane Dembele's injury, Barcelona should find a way through this Girona team. Paulo Gazzaniga has been one of the worst goalkeepers in the Spanish top flight, making just 44 saves this season while sporting a -5.29 xG to goals conceded differential. That's the third-worst mark in the league behind just Celta Vigo and Espanyol.

• Pick: Arnau Martinez to be booked
• Odds: +190 (FanDuel)

Girona aren't a team that gives away excessive fouls, but with Barcelona expected to control possession, they could be forced to defend for extended periods of time. With 19-year-old right-back Arnau Martinez one of the league's most guaranteed yellow cards, and up against the pace of Ansu Fati in a game of this magnitude at the Camp Nou with the chaotic Mateu Lahoz on the whistle, there's no safer yellow card bet than Martinez at surprisingly juicy odds.

Barcelona vs Girona live stream, TV channel

Here's how to watch the match live from the Camp Nou.