Real Madrid may not have been able to replace Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, but Julen Lopetegui's men will be determined to show they are strong enough without him when they face Girona on Sunday.
Despite losing the UEFA Super Cup to city rivals Atletico Madrid, the European champions started the Liga season well by beating Getafe 2-0 in their first game.
With Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio leading the attack, they are capable of threatening any team in La Liga, but Girona showed last season that they can stand up to the Blancos in their own stadium and will be looking to stop the visitors.
| Game | Girona vs Real Madrid |
| Date | Sunday, August 26 |
| Time | 9.15pm BST / 4.15pm ET |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live on beIN SPORTS and streamed on beIN SPORTS Connect.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| beIN SPORTS | beIN SPORTS Connect |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be shown and live-streamed on Eleven Sports.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Eleven Sports 1 | Eleven Sports |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Girona players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Bounou, Iraizoz |
| Defenders | Espinosa, Juanpe, Muniesa, Ramalho, Alcala, Mojica, Aday, Planas |
| Midfielders | Pons, Timor, Garcia, Granell, Portu, Borja Garcia, Porro |
| Forwards | Roberts, Izquierdo, Stuani, Lozano |
Johan Mojica has been ruled out with an injury, while Cristhian Stuani is a doubt for this game.
Potential Girona XI: Bounou; Espinosa, Muniesa, Juanpe, Borja Garcia; Timor, Portu, Granell, Garcia; Porro, Stuani.
| Position | Real Madrid players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Navas, Casilla, Courtois, |
| Defenders | Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo, Nacho, Odriozola |
| Midfielders | Kroos, Casemiro, Modric, M. Llorente, Ceballos, Isco, Asensio |
| Forwards | Benzema, Bale, Vazquez, Mayoral |
Jesus Vallejo has been left out of the squad through injury, while Vinicius Jr. is another notable omission.
Potential Real Madrid XI: Navas: Carvajal, Nacho, Ramos, Marcelo; Kroos, Casemiro, Isco: Bale, Benzema, Asensio.
Betting & Match Odds
Real Madrid are priced at odds of 1/7 to take the win, as priced by bet 365, while a draw is available at 13/2. A win for Getafe is priced at 16/1.
Match Preview
GettyGareth Bale and Dani Carvajal were on target last week as Real Madrid started the league campaign with a victory, but Julen Lopetegui's men may face a more strenuous test in the second game.
Girona finished 10th in La Liga last term and even beat the Cristiano Ronaldo-led team in the Estadi Montilivi last year.
Although they were held to a draw by newly-promoted Real Valladolid last week, Girona defender Bernardo Espinosa says his side will be more hyped up for Sunday's clash.
"We're very excited because it's a special game, with a different flavour," he said. "We hope to repeat that great day that we gave to the fans last season, it was unforgettable, a historic feat. We entered the history of Girona."
But midfielder David Timor was quick to stress that repeating the achievement will be tough.
"If we believe that it will be easy to repeat the feat of last year, we are wrong," he told reporters. "Madrid is a great team with and without Cristiano Ronaldo. It's clear that it will be very difficult to replace him, but all their players are good."