Real Madrid are aiming to maintain their dominance in La Liga as they travel to Girona on Sunday. The visitors have been among the poorest teams in the Spanish topflight this season and should be no match for the superior quality of the champions.
Real Madrid lost for the first time this season after going down 3-2 at RB Leipzig in the Champions League. It was a much-changed side for the champions, who went two goals down early in the contest before efforts from Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo made the result more respectable.
Although it was only Real Madrid’s first defeat of the season, manager Carlo Ancelotti will be keen to make a swift return to winning ways. The good news is they are still unbeaten in La Liga and ran out 3-1 winners over Sevilla in their previous fixture.
The Santiago Bernabeu has been a fortress for Real Madrid all season and they are unbeaten in front of their fans across all competitions. Some of their most one-sided results have come at home, including a 4-1 victory over Mallorca and a 3-1 El-Clasico win against Barcelon.
It has been a difficult return to the topflight for Girona, who have only claimed two wins from 11 La Liga matches this season. They are currently in the bottom three, although with just a point between them and 14th placed Espanyol, there is still some hope of getting things right.
The problem for Girona is that they have shown little fight in recent weeks with no wins in their last six La Liga matches. Michel’s men have suffered four defeats in that run but played out a 1-1 draw with Osasuna in their previous fixture.
Girona have also found things difficult on their travels, where they have failed to win a single game this season. They have lost four of their last five away matches so far and were beaten 3-2 by fellow strugglers Almeria in their previous fixture on the road.
How the bookies view it
Real Madrid are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 2/11 by William Hill. An unlikely victory for Girona is valued at 14/1 by Unibet while a draw is set at odds of 6/1 by BetVictor.
Head to head
Real Madrid have a 4-2 advantage from six previous matches with Girona. However, Girona claimed a 2-1 victory on their last visit to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu back in 2019 with Cristhian Stuani among the goals.
Players to watch
Striker Karim Benzema has missed the last two matches and is doubtful for Sunday’s clash. Vinicius Junior will be the one to watch for Real Madrid and is priced at 59/50 by Unibet to add to his five La Liga goals this season.
Cristhian Stuani remains the biggest attacking threat for Girona and has scored three goals in seven appearances this season. The veteran striker was on target on his last visit to the Santiago Bernabeu and is priced at 24/5 by William Hill to find the net on Sunday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Real Madrid often claim one-sided victories at home and can be backed in the -2 handicap market at 9/5 with Paddy Power. With Los Blancos expected to be dominant on Sunday, they could be tipped to win both halves at 6/4 with Paddy Power.
There have been over 3.5 goals in three of Real Madrid’s last four matches and a repeat is priced at 11/10 with Unibet.
This La Liga match between Real Madrid and Girona will be played on Oct 30, 2022 and kick off at 15:15. Check below for our tipsters best Real Madrid vs Girona prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
