The lights are on at the Bernabeu again. Real Madrid return to domestic action tonight against Girona, knowing that anything other than three points would effectively hand Barcelona the La Liga title with eight games remaining.
It has been a bruising week. The 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on Tuesday left Real facing a first-leg deficit in the Champions League quarter-finals. The 2-1 loss to Mallorca last weekend handed Barcelona a seven-point cushion at the top. Arbeloa's side are on a run of two defeats in their last three La Liga games.
Girona arrive in 12th place but are not to be taken lightly. They beat Barcelona 2-1 in February and held Real to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture earlier this season. Away form has been poor — no wins in their last five on the road — but they will sense the tension in the home camp.
Arbeloa confirmed that Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga both start tonight. Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior lead the attack. Aurelien Tchouameni is suspended for the Bayern second leg on Wednesday so starts here. Franco Mastantuono is suspended. Thibaut Courtois remains out with a thigh injury, with Andriy Lunin continuing in goal.
Kick-off at the Santiago Bernabeu is 9pm CET.
