Following a disappointing draw in the game against Athletic Club, Real Madrid are set to return to La Liga action tonight with a match against one of the surprise teams of last season, Girona.
The Catalan club had a memorable campaign in La Liga last season, which helped them qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. However, this season, Michel’s side has not been as good, as they are standing 8th in La Liga, having already lost 5 games.
Still, there is no doubt that Girona have a lot of quality in their ranks, and even though Real Madrid have a vastly superior squad, the Merengues’ recent form has not really been great.
Thus, this will be a pretty open game, and both teams will be looking to get the better of one another. There will be three key battles that can turn out to be decisive for the two sides, which are discussed below.
Jude Bellingham vs Oriol Romeu
Jude Bellingham is now returning to the excellent goalscoring form that he displayed in his first season at Real Madrid. He has now scored in his last three league matches for the Merengues and has been one of the players who has been playing at a good level despite the struggles of the rest of the team.
Against Girona, he will once again be the team’s reference in attack. Vinicius Junior remains absent from the squad for this game due to his injury, while Kylian Mbappe is going through a very tough patch and has been far from the level that fans would have expected from him.
However, the Englishman will be facing a highly experienced opponent in this game, as Oriol Romeu will be the pivot for his team. Having returned to Girona in the last summer transfer window, the 33-year-old midfielder is proving to be an integral part of Michel’s team this season and has already made 10 La Liga appearances this season.
He makes 2.1 tackles on average every game and has recovered 3.8 balls in each match on average. The La Masia graduate also gets dribbled past only 0.2 times in a match, and with his experience and defending abilities, will prove to be quite a tough opponent for Bellingham.
Bryan Gil vs Lucas Vazquez
The 23-year-old Spaniard is playing with Girona this season on loan from the Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, and Michel is taking full advantage of this loan by giving the talented youngster a lot of minutes in his team and Gil is proving himself to be one of the best players in this Girona team.
This season, he has played 13 games in La Liga, starting 10 of them, and has scored 2 goals and provided 3 assists in these appearances. He was particularly good in the recent game against Espanyol, in which he scored 1 goal and provided 2 assists.
Against Real Madrid, he will once again be looking to put on a display as he faced one of the biggest teams in the league. Luckily, he will be facing a weakened defence, as both Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao are out with injuries, and he will be expecting to have an easier time against the ageing Lucas Vazquez.
Meanwhile, the Real Madrid defender will also be looking to get things back on track after an underwhelming outing against Athletic Club. His experience will clearly be one of his main weapons as he locks horns with the Girona forward, but still, he will have to be at his best to get out as the winner in this duel.
Kylian Mbappe vs Miguel Gutierrez
After a rather convincing performance against Getafe, Kylian Mbappe was once again a flop in the last game against Athletic Club as he missed a penalty and was also unable to influence the game in any significant manner.
It has been some months since his arrival at the Merengue club, and although the fans have been forgiving up to now, he will have to up his game significantly if he wants his Real Madrid career to be remembered as a success.
Thus, he will be particularly driven to put things right in this game, especially as Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes both will again not be playing, and he will have to lead the team’s attack once again.
In the match against Girona, he will be facing Miguel Gutierrez on his wing. Although the Girona defender is not very good defensively, the fact that he will be facing his former club, and possibly his future club as well, will drive him to put on his best performance.
Thus, Mbappe will not have an easy battle on his hands, even though Gutierrez looks to go on marauding runs higher up the pitch whenever he gets the chance.
