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• Girona to give '200 per cent' against Barcelona in possible Champions League clincher

  Barcelona will be favourites when they visit Girona on Saturday, but Michel says the hosts will give everything in a game which could see them confirm Champions League qualification. 

  Girona, third in LaLiga with 71 points, are two behind fellow Catalan side Barcelona, who they beat 4-2 in December's return fixture. 

  "For our fans, tomorrow is a historic match," Michel told reporters on Friday. 

  "In this match the motivation is top for everyone. Another challenge is to beat Barca for the first time at Montilivi.

  "Barca are favourites in this match, but we are playing at home in front of our fans. We will give 200 per cent because it's the only way to win."

  Girona, 13 points ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, are looking to ensure a top-four finish and secure qualification for the Champions League this weekend.

  Athletic go to Getafe on Friday, so a defeat for Ernesto Valverde's team will confirm Girona's place in the top four before they take to the field. 

  "We want to win tomorrow to reach the Champions League. It's about making Girona grow and achieving worldwide recognition for our club and our project," Michel said.

  "We always have more objectives like overtaking Real Madrid as the top-scoring team. We only have two goals between us.

  "What I want is to be protagonists in a league where Madrid have lost only one game."

• Xavi: Barcelona are out for revenge against Girona

  Barcelona take on Girona in the Catalan derby this weekend and will be out to avenge their defeat from earlier this season as both sides battle for second place in LaLiga, says Xavi.

  Girona won 4-2 in Barcelona when the teams met in December, which put Michel's side top of the standings.

  Although Real Madrid now look set to win the title and Barca have moved into second, Xavi still wants payback against their neighbours in this away clash.

  "There is no challenge with Michel, but there is a challenge of revenge for the first half of the season," Barca boss Xavi said at his pre-match press conference.

  "They were very forceful, we didn't adjust well, we didn't defend well in the box. It's not a personal challenge but as a team."

  Girona, the season's surprise package, come into Saturday's home game on the back of two wins, and a victory would see them leapfrog Barca and move into second place as they look to secure Champions League football for the first time.

  "A vital match. Their confidence is through the roof," Xavi said.

  "We have to congratulate them, their season is magnificent, at an extraordinary level, Champions League level.

  "We were bad in defending their team in the home game, but these are situations that we have analysed."

  Girona have a 13-point advantage over Athletic Bilbao who are fifth, and their Champions League place will already be safe by the time they face Barcelona if Bilbao lose at Getafe on Friday.

  "It's not going to change much, they'll go out to win, they want to be second and there is a lot more at stake," Xavi said.

  "Their mentality will not change even if Athletic fails. We're up against a team that has done a lot of good things to get to where it is. They'll be second if they deserve it.

  "It is a source of pride for Catalan football that Girona are in the Champions League and have also been candidates to win the title."

  Barcelona, meanwhile, can keep their slim title hopes mathematically alive with a victory, although the coach spoke only of the importance of finishing second, while refusing to speak of the future.

  Last week, Xavi reversed his decision to leave the club at the end of the season, but he is concentrating on the present, and that also goes for the future of players such as Robert Lewandowski.

  "We value Robert's presence in the team very much and we will decide on his future at the end of the season," Xavi said.

  "This is not the time to talk about futures, we are playing for second place."

  Real Madrid, who host Cadiz on Saturday, are top with 84 points and have five games remaining. Barcelona have 73 and Girona are on 71 points.

• Toronto FC v FC Dallas: Estevez wants cool heads from visitors

  Nico Estevez says FC Dallas must put their trust in a long-term process as the Western Conference strugglers prepare to visit high-flying Toronto FC on Saturday.

  Dallas sit 13th in the West with just two wins from nine matches this year, though they snapped a seven-game winless run by beating the Houston Dynamo 2-0 last week.   

  Just as Estevez refused to be too critical of his players during their poor run of form, he will avoid getting too high off the back of a single victory.

  "As we always say, we're never too high and never too low. It's about taking the positive things that we did against Houston to carry through the week, having the same mentality," Estevez said.

  "Also, with some of the things that we didn't do well, we'll keep improving on those.

  "As we always say, it is a process and we're trying to keep growing throughout the season, while getting results."

  Toronto, meanwhile, sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with 16 points from their first 10 MLS games under John Herdman.

  They scored two late goals to overturn a 1-0 deficit and clinch a third straight victory against Orlando City last time out, leaving Herdman to credit his players for their resilience.

  "We showed a good mentality to set the tone on how we wanted to approach it," he said.

  "I thought the guys were brave from the front and stamped their physical dominance on the game. To see the shift they put in was exceptional. It was a complete performance."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Toronto FC – Prince Osei Owusu

  Owusu has scored five goals for Toronto in MLS this year, his latest being a 90th-minute winner against Orlando last week. He has had 15 shots overall in 2024, converting 33.33 per cent of those. 

  FC Dallas – Petar Musa 

  Musa has scored in each of Dallas' last two matches, against the Colorado Rapids and Houston. 

  He has scored (three goals) or assisted (one) four of his team's seven MLS goals since the beginning of March, demonstrating his importance. 

  MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

  Toronto won their first-ever meeting with Dallas 4-0 in June 2007, but Dallas have only lost one of 18 subsequent regular-season meetings (11 wins, six draws).

  Dallas, though, are winless in their last 11 games against Eastern Conference opponents across all competitions (five draws, six losses), dating back to a 1-0 win over Inter Miami last April.

  Toronto have more league wins this season (five) than they managed through the entirety of 2023 (four), but Dallas have only lost one of their last four. A draw could be on the cards in Canada.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Toronto FC – 34.8%

  FC Dallas – 35.6%

  Draw – 29.6%