Real Madrid will be aiming to move onto 21 points from their opening eight matches of the 2023-24 La Liga campaign when they head to an in-form Girona on Saturday night.
Los Blancos will enter the match off the back of a 2-0 victory over Las Palmas on Wednesday, while Girona continued their excellent form by beating Villarreal 2-1 on the same night.
Match preview
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This is only Girona's fourth campaign in Spain's top flight, which makes their start even more remarkable, picking up 19 points from seven matches to top the table at the time of writing.
Barcelona will have the chance to move back to the summit when they face Sevilla on Friday, but it will take nothing away from what has been a stunning start from Girona, with the Catalan outfit boasting a record of six wins and one draw from seven league games this season.
Michel's side, who finished 10th last term, drew their opening La Liga match of the campaign away to Real Sociedad, which was an impressive result in itself, before beating Getafe, Sevilla, Las Palmas, Granada, Mallorca and Villarreal in their next six.
The clashes with Real Sociedad and Villarreal have been their toughest on paper this season, and they have come through the two matches with four points, and it will be fascinating to see how they perform against Real Madrid in Saturday's mouthwatering affair at Estadi Montilivi.
The White and Reds are actually unbeaten in their last three league games with Los Blancos, including a 4-2 victory in the corresponding match last term, while they have lost just two of their six La Liga matches against the capital giants in total.
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Real Madrid will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 win over Las Palmas on Wednesday, with the team managing to bounce back from their loss to Atletico Madrid in the Madrid derby on Sunday.
Brahim Diaz made the breakthrough in the latter stages of the first period before Joselu netted early in the second, with Carlo Ancelotti's side easing to their sixth league win of the campaign.
As it stands, Real Madrid are second in the table, boasting a record of six wins and one defeat from their seven matches, but they would drop to third if Barcelona avoid defeat to Sevilla on Friday night.
Ancelotti's side have not exactly been at their free-flowing best this season, but the Madrid derby aside, they have been effective in 2023-24, also opening their Champions League group-stage campaign with a 1-0 win over Union Berlin on September 20.
Los Blancos now face a trip to Girona before switching their attention back to European football, heading to Italy early next week to prepare for their clash with Napoli on Tuesday night.
As mentioned, Real Madrid have found it difficult to beat Girona in La Liga, winning just two of their six matches, suffering three defeats in the process, and they will be heading to a team in excellent shape.
Team News
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Girona remain without the services of five first-team players, with Bernardo Espinosa, Borja Garcia, Joel Roca, Ricard Artero and Toni Villa on the sidelines through injury.
Artem Dovbyk has scored twice in his last two appearances for the Catalan outfit and should again lead the line, while Yangel Herrera, who has three goals from midfield this season, will also retain his spot.
Head coach Michel could select the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle against Villarreal on Wednesday, with Savio and Ivan Martin featuring in midfield.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, suffered a fresh injury blow on Wednesday, with David Alaba being substituted in the latter stages of the first period after picking up a thigh problem.
Alaba is set to miss out this weekend, but Antonio Rudiger, who picked up a knock against Las Palmas, will be available for selection.
Eder Militao, Thibaut Courtois and Arda Guler remain absent, but Vinicius Junior made his comeback off the bench against Las Palmas and will now start.
Dani Carvajal was also back on the bench on Wednesday, and the Spaniard is set to return to the XI, with Nacho likely to move into the middle due to Alaba's absence.
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; A Martinez, E Garcia, D Lopez, Gutierrez; Tsygankov, Herrera, A Garcia, Martin, Savio; Dovbyk
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, F Garcia; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Bellingham; Vinicius, Rodrygo
We say: Girona 2-2 Real Madrid
This is a very, very difficult match to call, and we changed our minds a couple of times before settling on a draw. Real Madrid are the favourites, but Girona's form has been excellent this season, and the Catalan side have also enjoyed their recent meetings with the capital giants, so the spoils could be shared here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
