Without Ronaldo and Zidane, Los Blancos don’t seem too powerful this season. But, they’re still among the top favorites for winning La Liga. And they’re planning to prove it by beating Girona this Sunday evening. They’re traveling to Catalonia, confident they’re gonna bring home all three points. But, can the support from the stands of Estadi Municipal de Montilivi help Girona cause an upset like they did the last season when they beat Los Blancos 2:1? Maybe this Girona vs Real Madrid match preview will help you find the answer!
Girona
Right after they got promoted from Segunda, Girona left a really good impression in La Liga. This team finished the season 2017/2018 on the 10th spot with the same number of points as Eibar, but with a worse goal difference. Girona are once again huge relegation favorites, but they showed in the first round that they have no intention to surrender without a fight.
In the opening round of La Liga, Girona played 0:0 with Real Valladolid. Not a great success, but one point is definitely better than no points. And if they manage to pull off a good result against Real Madrid, they will have something to cling onto till the end of the season.
By “good result” I mean anything that’s not a massive defeat. Girona beat Los Blancos last season, but such a scenario is very unlikely to happen again. Surely, they will have massive support from the stands, the same they did in the win over Real Madrid last October, but I don’t think it will worth it this time.
Real Madrid
The reason why I’m convinced Los Blancos will do well in this game is that they need to win matches like these. Without Cristiano Ronaldo, who was their key player for many years, they aren’t favorites for winning big games anymore. We already saw them losing to Atletico Madrid in the Super Cup, so they definitely mustn’t rely on points in games against heavyweight teams like Atleti and Barca, or even Sevilla and Valencia.
Instead, they need to win each of the “small” games if such a thing still exists in modern football. But, here, they’re big favorites and they need to prove it if they’re planning to compete for the title. They beat Getafe in the first round by 2:0 and I expect the same from them in this match.
Speaking of that game, it’s important to mention that Gareth Bale was a scorer. The Welshman is expected to take Ronaldo’s role as the leader of the team. So far, it seems he’s up to the challenge, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if we saw him scoring against Girona as well. Maybe a free kick goal, something which he’s famous for.
Team News
Girona absentees
- None
Real Madrid absentees
- Jesus Vallejo (injury)
Possible Lineups
Girona
Bounou – Juanpe, Espinosa, Pedro Porro, Muniesa – Aleix Garcia, Timor, Alex Granell – Borja Garcia, Portu, Stuani
Real Madrid
Courtois – Ramos, Varane, Carvajal, Marcelo – Casemiro, Kroos, Modric – Bale, Vazquez, Benzema
Girona vs Real Madrid Match Prediction
Real Madrid have to win this, otherwise they can get in real problems later on. La Liga is super-tough this season, with a number of teams hoping for a place near the top. Not winning games like this would diminish Real Madrid’s chances for a respectable spot at the end of the season. But, I think their fans should not worry – Los Blancos are gonna win this easily.
Girona vs Real Madrid Betting Tips
- Real Madrid @1.36 (bet365)
- Real Madrid AH -1.5 @2.03 (1XBet)