Girona Vs. Real Madrid Prediction: Los Blancos Mission Points At The Montilivi Estadi
JAKARTA - Girona and Real Madrid will meet in this week's La Liga match at the Montilivi Estadi on Saturday night, December 7. Los Blancos hope to bounce back after a narrow defeat to Athletic Bilbao, while Girona tries to end their negative trend in various competitions.
Girona entered the 2024/2025 season with high hopes after recording their best achievement in La Liga last season, finishing in third place. This achievement made Girona entitled to appear in the Champions League group stage, something they had never achieved before. However, Girona's performance this season tends to decline.
Even so, Michel forces showed signs of a revival by winning 10 points from La Liga's last four matches, thanks to three wins and one draw. Now, Girona is in eighth position in the standings with only seven points adrift of Athletic Bilbao in fourth place, and they still have one game in hand.
Unfortunately, Girona's performance in other competitions was less than satisfactory. They lost 0-1 to Sturm Graz in the Champions League at the end of November, making them slump in 30th place in the overall standings. In the Copa del Rey, Girona was also surprisingly knocked out by the fourth division team, UD Logrones, after losing on penalties.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid came into this match with the motivation to return to winning ways. The 1-2 defeat to Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday night, December 4 not only made them lose three points, but also further distanced from Barcelona at the top of the standings. Despite still being in second place with 33 points from 15 matches, Los Blancos are now four points behind the Blaugrana, who have played one game more.
The defeat to Athletic is Madrid's second in La Liga this season. However, more than that, Carlo Ancelotti's men have lost four in the last seven games in all competitions. Big challenges await them, with the decisive Champions League match against Atalanta BC in the middle of next week.
In the history of the meeting, Real Madrid have won six of the 10 games against Girona in all competitions, including a 3-0 win in the same game last season. However, Girona cannot be underestimated, especially as they play in front of their own supporters.
Coach Girona, Michel will not be strengthened by injured Viktor Tsygankov, Yaser Asprilla, and Yangel Herrera. However, the return of Gabriel Misehouy is expected to provide additional options in midfield.
Michel is predicted to make some changes to the losing team in the Copa del Rey. Ivan Martin, Arnau Martinez, Donny van de Beek, and Bojan Miovski will most likely return to the starting XI.
Bryan Gil, who was borrowed from Tottenham Hotspur, is expected to appear as a starter on the left wing, while Arnaut Danjuma, who is still looking for his first goal for Girona, is also expected to fill the attack line.
Real Madrid Real Madrid are still missing some key players such as Vinicius Junior, Eduardo Camavinga, Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, and David Alaba who are still injured. However, they did not face any new problems after the match against Athletic.
Ancelotti is expected to make two changes from the previous match, with Brahim Diaz and Ferland Mendy likely replacing Dani Ceballos and Fran Garcia.
SEE ALSO:
The Madrid attack trio will still be entrusted to Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe, and Jude Bellingham. On the back lines, Raul Asencio will again be the main choice to replace Militao who are absent until the end of the season.
Girona has shown toughness in La Liga's last few games, but poor results in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League show they still have weaknesses that need to be fixed. Playing at home alone would be an additional motivation, but fighting Real Madrid is certainly not an easy task.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid came under great pressure to win, given their distance from Barcelona in the standings. Although their performance has been less consistent lately, Los Blancos have had enough quality for the players to win, especially if Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham are in their best form.
Madrid are expected to get three valuable points in this match, although Girona will most likely put up a fierce fight in front of supporters
Estimated Lineup Of Players
Girona (4-2-3-1): Gazganiga; A Martinez, D Lopez, Krejci, Gutierrez; Martin, Romeu; Gil, Van de Beek, Danjuma; Miovski
Real Madrid (4-3-3):Courtois; Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Brahim
Score Prediction: Girona 1-2 Real Madrid
Simak breaking news dan berita pilihan Anda langsung di ponsel. Pilih saluran andalan akses berita voi.id WhatsApp Channel :https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vax5uVN0VycKrMBsAU1I. Pastikan Anda sudah install aplikasi WhatsApp.