Real Madrid vs Girona Preview: Start Time, Date, Team News, How To Watch & Live Stream
Following their midweek dismantling of Manchester City in the Champions League, Real Madrid are once again back in La Liga action, facing Girona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Last time out in the league, Real Madrid were on the road and dropped points away to mid-table Osasuna, but the main talking point from Pamplona was the controversial red card given to Jude Bellingham.
The superstar midfielder was shown a straight red card and sent off for dissent towards the referee in the first half of last Saturday’s game - but there was some fallout afterward about what Bellingham had actually said.
Nevertheless, his ban was upheld as Real Madrid saw their appeal against it overturned. He will miss Sunday’s game versus Girona and Los Blancos' following game, an away fixture against Real Betis.
Real Madrid have been excellent at home this season, taking 28 points from a possible 33 on offer. The five dropped came against Atletico Madrid, a game which they drew, and the 4-0 defeat to Barcelona.
Other than that, they’ve been flawless and put in another strong showing midweek, with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick to power Madrid past Manchester City and into the next round of the Champions League.
A win on Sunday could see Real return to the summit of the La Liga table, although this would be reliant on Barcelona dropping points in the Canary Islands on Saturday night.
Currently, the two powerhouses of Spanish football are level on 51 points, but Barcelona have a better goal difference (+40, compared to Madrid’s +29). If nothing else, it will certainly make for a fascinating end to the season, particularly as Atletico Madrid are just a point behind the pair of them, waiting to pounce on any slip-up.
Meanwhile, Girona have failed to hit the same heights as last season, when they finished third in the league - and having been eliminated from this seasons Champions League in the group stage they currently find themselves 11th in La Liga.
They come into the game against Madrid having won just one of their last seven in all competitions, and having lost their last two league games, 2-1 against Girona and 3-0 against Athletic Bilbao.
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The last five games between the two sides have been closely fought, but Madrid have more often than not come out on top, having won three of them.
Madridistas will be hoping their team scores first, as Girona are yet to win a La Liga game in which they have conceded first this season, drawing two of those and losing eight.
Here is a closer look at the recent head-to-head record of the two teams:
Date | Result |
|---|---|
Saturday, December 7, 2024 | Girona 0-3 Real Madrid |
Saturday, February 10, 2024 | Real Madrid 4-0 Girona |
Saturday, September 30, 2024 | Girona 0-3 Real Madrid |
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 | Girona 4-2 Real Madrid |
Sunday, October 30, 2022 | Real Madrid 1-1 Girona |
Real Madrid Team News vs Girona
The main headline from a Madrid perspective is Bellingham’s absence, and who will replace him. One thing is for sure, they aren’t short of options.
Assuming the rest of the starting XI from Wednesday's game is unchanged, they could opt to replace him with Arda Guler, Luka Modric, Endrick, Brahim Diaz or even someone more defensively minded, such as the versatile French international, Eduardo Camavinga.
Having such depth of quality means there isn’t really any telling how Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti will choose to get round this latest obstacle, but it must be a brilliant headache for the 65-year-old to have.
Elsewhere, their defensive worries appear to be easing by the week, with Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba now available for selection again.
Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao are the only long-term absentees. The former is the real miss of the two, but at the time of writing, Federico Valverde is proving a very useful stop-gap in the meantime, playing excellently at right-back to combat the void Carvajal leaves in the side.
Girona have a couple of players who could miss the game on Sunday.
Midfielder Yangel Herrera is suspended, whilst forwards Arnaut Danjuma and Abel Ruiz look set to miss out through injury.
Real Madrid vs Girona Date
Date: February 23, 2025
Real Madrid vs Girona Time
Time: 10:15am EST (7:15am PST / 3:15pm GMT)
How to watch Real Madrid vs Girona
United States: ESPN+
United Kingdom: Premier Sports 1
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Dylan has been a sports journalist for over four years, working in both print and digital. He also works as a stadium announcer for Crawley Town FC in the United Kingdom. He covers Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and PSG On SI.