Real Madrid vs Girona

Estadio Santiago Bernabeu is the venue as Real Madrid and Girona go head-to-head in a handsomely-looking La Liga encounter.

Real Madrid’s La Liga title defense is in tatters after last weekend’s ill-tempered 1-1 draw at Osasuna saw Barcelona leapfrog them at the summit. Losing Jude Bellingham to suspension added insult to injury, aggravating the risk of going four consecutive top-flight matches without winning for the first time since October 2018 (D2, L1). However, Carlo Ancelotti’s side bounced back in midweek Champions League action, demolishing Manchester City 3-1 at home on the back of an inspiring five-game unbeaten home league streak (W4, D1). Furthermore, ‘Los Merengues’ have enjoyed facing Girona lately, beating them by 3+ goals ‘to nil’ across their last four La Liga H2Hs, including a 3-0 victory in December’s reverse fixture.

On the other hand, back-to-back defeats to Athletic Bilbao and Getafe via an aggregate score of 5-1 left Girona stranded in La Liga’s mid-table, deepening the gap on sixth-placed Rayo Vallecano to four points. Michel’s men have ominously lost six of their eight competitive matches since the calendar year flipped to 2025 (W2), including four out of five in La Liga (W1). Interestingly, four of those five results (wins/losses) have yielded an identical 2-1 scoreline, highlighting the potential for a high-scoring contest. Girona cannot realistically expect to come out on top of any emphatic scoreline after only winning one of their five away league games since the start of December (D1, L3).