La Liga: Girona Take Another Crack at the Summit Against Real Madrid

Real Madrid vs Girona

The league-leading Real Madrid will play host to their title-race rivals, Girona, at Santiago Bernabéu for a pivotal La Liga clash.

The Spanish League is shaping up to be a two-horse race between Real Madrid and Girona, and it’s as close as it gets!

Thanks to Atletico, Girona are still within striking distance of Real Madrid for the top seed. And a win at Bernabéu will have them claim the top spot in the standings once again. I have a feeling that this will be a recurring theme between these two rivals.

As it stands, Real Madrid are just two points clear of Girona, but the good news for Los Blancos is that they’re the favourites to win this time around. They already got the job done earlier this year in front of a roaring Montilivi crowd, but that doesn’t mean they’ll come out unscathed during their upcoming bout.

Talking Points

Atletico halt Real’s chance to pull away

Prior to their draw against Ateltico, Real Madrid were the hottest team in the Spanish top flight, riding an 18-game unbeaten streak.

That incredible run pushed them atop the La Liga standings with 57 points after 22 games, and they would’ve been able to pull away from the threatening Girona outfit if it weren’t for their neighbouring rivals, Atletico Madrid.

Coming into Matchday 22, Los Blancos were two points above the second-placed Girona, and a win against Atletico Madrid could’ve made them five points clear of the Gironistes.

Unfortunately for Ancoletti and his men, Atletico Madrid had other plans. At this point in the season, Real Madrid’s only adversaries that have given them legitimate challenges are Diego Simeone and the rest of Atletico.

Simeone was responsible for Real’s exit from the Copa del Rey, where they crushed Ancoletti’s outfit 4-2 in the Round of 16, and they also handed Real Madrid their first and only loss in the La Liga season thus far.

Atleti once again got in the way of Real by ending their Matchday 22 clash in a 1-1 draw, which kept Los Blancos well within striking distance of Girona.

Luckily for Ancelotti’s side, Atleti are now in their rearview mirrors and will be free of their shackles when they try to fend off an advancing Girona.

Who will step up for Girona this time around?

Girona are blessed to have a handful of assassins at their disposal. Arten Dovbyk is still in the running in the La Liga Golden Boot race, tied with Jude Bellingham and Norja Mayoral with 14 goals, and Cristhian Stuani is also making strides this season with seven goals to his name.

Recently, Dovbyk has been making the La Liga 2024 news because of his stellar performances as of late, particularly his hat-trick against Sevilla. But there’s another Girona forward has been making some noise in recent weeks.

The 19-year-old Brazilian, Savio, decided to turn on the jets and has become a vital contributor to Girona, especially since the start of the 2024 calendar year.

In the 2023–24 season, Savio has managed to score five goals and dish out seven assists to boot. His uptick in form even garnered the interest of the treble winners, Manchester City.

Not to state the obvious, but Girona are stacked!

History

Historically, Madrid have won most of their past head-to-heads against Girona, but it’s not a landslide whatsoever. In their past nine matches, Los Blancos won five times, while Girona were able to grab three victories and tally one draw to boot.

During their most recent bout, Ancelotti’s outfit crushed Girona with a humbling 0-3 score line in their own turf at Montilivi. It was a neck-and-neck bout in terms of statistics, as both teams were close in possession, passes, and number of shots attempted. But it was Real Madrid’s final third that got the job done. Bellingham, Tchouameni, and Joselu scored one goal apiece to give Madrid three goals and three league points.

In recent form, both clubs have had stellar campaigns and are currently the top two clubs in La Liga. Madrid were on a seven-game winning streak before tallying a 1-1 draw against their Madrid rivals last week.

Meanwhile, Girona are on an eight-game unbeaten streak, starting after their 2-4 loss to Barcelona back in December. They failed to score against Sociedad in their Matchday 23 clash and seek to go back to their winning ways when they pay Real Madrid a visit at Bernabéu.

Betting Tip

If this SBOTOP writer sees an impending matchup between Real Madrid and Girona, I will immediately think of goals. Los Blancos and Girona boast two of the most potent offences in the Spanish top flight, with Girona tallying 52 goals thus far while Madrid have 48.

That’s why my betting tip is total goals over 3.25 at 1.91. Both teams have the capability of putting up a bunch of goals night in and night out, so having them on the same pitch would be the perfect recipe for a match with a high aggregate.

They may be only separated by two points in the league standings, but the La Liga 2024 betting odds placed Real Madrid as the heavy favourites to win their home bout. The hosts are priced at 1.40, while the visiting Girona are slapped with a price of 5.90 and a price of 4.62 to tally a draw.

In my opinion, this will be a very competitive match that can go either way. But to have Girona as overwhelming underdogs at 5.90 poses immense value for punters to consider. Not discrediting Real Madrid’s chance to win, but Girona have a strong chance to win the title this term, and to have one of the favourites to win the league priced at 5.90 is definitely a steal.

 

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