Real Madrid will be looking to bounce back from their derby defeat when they visit Girona in the La Liga. While Girona extended their impressive record by defeating Villarreal 2-1 on the same night, Los Blancos will enter the game off a 2-0 victory over Las Palmas.
Preview (Girona vs. Real Madrid)
Girona is only in their fourth season in Spain’s top division, which makes their impressive start all the more impressive. They have 19 points after seven games and currently sit atop the standings. When Barcelona plays Sevilla on Friday, they will have the chance to regain the lead in the standings. However, there is no denying Girona’s incredible start to the season. The Catalan team has a record of six victories and one tie in their first seven league games. They drew away to Real Sociedad in their opening La Liga encounter of the season. Getafe, Sevilla, Las Palmas, Granada, Mallorca, and Villarreal were the next six victories for Michel’s team. They finished 10th in the previous season.
It will be interesting to see how they do against Real Madrid in Saturday’s exciting matchup at Estadi Montilivi. The matches against Real Sociedad and Villarreal were their two hardest on paper this season. They managed to win both of them with four points. The White and Reds have won all six of their La Liga meetings against the capital heavyweights. They have gone unbeaten in their last three league encounters with Los Blancos. It included a 4-2 triumph in the comparable game last season. The squad managed to recover from its loss to Atletico Madrid in the Madrid derby.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team cruised to their sixth league victory of the season with ease as Brahim Diaz scored in the closing minutes of the first period and Joselu added another early in the second. Real Madrid now sits in second place in the standings with a record of six victories and one loss in their seven games, but if Barcelona wins against Sevilla on Friday night, they will move up to second.
Team News
Bernardo Espinosa, Borja Garcia, Joel Roca, Ricard Artero, and Toni Villa are among the five first-team players still out injured for Girona. Artem Dovbyk, who has two goals in his past two games for the Catalan team, should start again. Yangel Herrera, who has three goals this season from midfield, will also keep his spot. Savio and Ivan Martin could play in midfield if head coach Michel sticks with the starting lineup.
In the meantime, Real Madrid was dealt another blow on Wednesday as David Alaba was replaced late in the first period due to a thigh injury. Alaba is expected to miss this weekend’s games. Los Blancos are optimistic that Antonio Rudiger, who was injured against Las Palmas, will be able to play. However, Vinicius Junior made his comeback off the bench against Las Palmas and is now eligible to start in place of Eder Militao, Thibaut Courtois, and Arda Guler who are still absent.
In addition to Dani Carvajal, who was back on the bench on Wednesday, Nacho is expected to move into the middle of the field as Alaba is expected to miss the game. We considered several different outcomes before deciding on a draw because this match is extremely tough to predict. Although Real Madrid is the favorite, Girona has been in fantastic form this year and has relished its recent encounters with the capital’s powerhouses, thus the victory may not be decided by a single team.
Girona 2 – 2 Real Madrid
For more football previews, click here
