Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's La Liga clash between Real Madrid and Girona at the Bernabeu!

In terms of pedigree and history there could not really be a greater chasm between these two sides, but they come into today's game separated by only three places in the top flight as Madrid have endured a poor campaign so far, whereas Girona have been La Liga's surprise package.

It promises to be a fascinating encounter in the Spanish capital as Girona look to do the double over the European champions, but before we take a closer look at both clubs let's first check out the team news...

REAL MADRID STARTING XI: Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo; Kroos, Kovacic, Vazquez; Ronaldo, Benzema, Asensio

REAL MADRID SUBS: Vallejo, Modric, Bale, Casilla, Casemiro, Hernandez, Isco

GIRONA STARTING XI: Bounou; Ramalho, Espinosa, Juanpe; Maffeo, Pons, Graneli, Mojica; Portu, Stuani, Garcia

GIRONA SUBS: Iraizoz, Aday, Olunga, Timor, Lozano, Muniesa, Garcia

What can we make of those two sides, then?

Well, there are plenty of notable inclusions and exclusions in the Real Madrid starting XI this evening, with the headline news centering around Gareth Bale, who only makes the bench for Los Blancos.

Bale had been a doubt heading into the game, but his inclusion among the substitutes suggests that he is fit enough to feature should he be needed tonight. Instead, Zidane has opted to start Marco Asensio in his place.

Karim Benzema also returns to the starting lineup this evening and will be hoping to improve his rather meagre tally of just four La Liga goals this season - and just seven across all competitions.

The lineup suggests that Zidane may go for something similar to a 4-4-2 formation with Benzema and Ronaldo both leading the line, although Asensio is more than capable of turning that into the 4-3-3 we are more used to seeing from Los Blancos, while the likes of Bale and Isco on the bench would also suit that system better.

Speaking of Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner will again be expected to be Real Madrid's main goal threat this evening, and while he got off to a very slow start by his own standards this season, he is more than making up for lost time now.

Ronaldo comes into this match having scored 13 goals in his last seven games across all competitions and a whopping 17 in his last 10 outings - a run of form which includes six braces, one hat-trick and three assists on top of that. He is unstoppable at the moment.

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Not all of Real Madrid's big names start alongside Ronaldo tonight, though, and aside from Gareth Bale the most notable absentee is Sergio Ramos, who has failed a late fitness test following a knocked and misses out entirely tonight.

Nacho comes into the heart of the defence alongside Varane to replace Ramos, with Dani Carvajal and Marcelo making up an otherwise unchanged back four in front of Keylor Navas in the Madrid goal.

There may only be one change at the back, but overall Zidane has made five changes to the team which beat Eibar last weekend, including dropping the likes of Luka Modric, Casemiro and Isco down to the bench.

Modric and Kroos have both had fitness concerns recently, but the latter is the only one to start today as Modric has to make do with a place on that very strong bench of Madrid's. Casemiro's exclusion is also interesting, with Kovacic and Vazquez replacing those two in the starting lineup.

There are plenty of recognisable names in the Girona squad too this evening, mostly due to the fact that much of their success this season has been helped by a number of players being on loan at the club.

From tonight's starting XI only Pablo Maffeo - from Manchester City - and Johan Mojica - from Rayo Vallecano - are on loan, but on the bench they also have Stoke loanee Marco Muniesa, Michael Olunga from Guizhou Zhicheng and Aleix Garcia from Man City as well.

The star of the show for Girona so far this season has been former Middlesbrough striker Cristhian Stuani, who has led the line to great effect and is largely responsible for the goals which have left tonight's visitors fighting for Europe.

Stuani has scored 15 times in La Liga this season - a tally only five players in the entire league, and only Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, can beat. That includes the equaliser in the reverse fixture between these two sides too.

Portu got the famous winning goal in that reverse fixture and he too starts again this evening, with manager Pablo Machin naming an unchanged side to the one which beat Deportivo last Friday.

That means we are likely to see a three-man defence from the visitors - risky if Madrid opt for three up front - although in reality that will probably more closely resemble a five-man backline with Madrid expected to dominate possession.

Madrid will, of course, go into this match as the heavy favourites to come away with all three points, but they will need reminding less than most that they cannot afford to underestimate Girona tonight.

Girona have been La Liga's surprise package so far, and the biggest surprise along the way came in the reverse fixture of this tie. It was a famous victory for Girona, but an embarrassing defeat for Real Madrid - one of five league losses they have suffered this season.

When you consider that Barcelona extended their unbeaten start to the season to 29 games earlier today, it is easy to see how Real Madrid have slipped so far behind their bitter rivals, with 18 points not separating them from the champions-elect.

The very best Real can hope for in terms of domestic success this season is now second place, although as things stand they will begin this match 10 points off even that, with Atletico Madrid currently leading Villarreal.

Just as I say that, there has actually been some good news for Real Madrid as Villarreal have equalised against Atletico with only eight minutes remaining, but Los Blancos still have a lot of work to do this season if they are to catch their city rivals.

Indeed, before they can begin to think of that they must first focus on regaining third place this evening, which only a win will be enough to achieve. Madrid dropped down to fourth yesterday by virtue of Valencia's win over Alaves.

Having also been eliminated from the Copa del Rey, Madrid are once again left waiting on the Champions League to salvage their season, and Zidane's side will once again be amongst the favourites to lift the trophy for a third successive year after beating PSG in the last 16.

PSG were considered among the favourites themselves before that tie, which Madrid won 5-2 on aggregate, and they will face another difficult test in the quarters having been drawn against Juventus - another one of Zidane's former clubs.

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Despite their relatively lowly position in the league table, Madrid actually come into this match in very good form having won eight of their last nine games across all competitions, including each of their last three. Indeed, their only defeat in their last 11 outings came at Espanyol, which is also their only loss in their last 10 La Liga games.

Madrid have scored a whopping 35 goals over that 10-game spell in La Liga - an average of 3.5 per game - and have won six of their last seven outings in the league.

The big concern for Real Madrid at the moment will be their defensive record. Only Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have conceded fewer goals in La Liga this season, but they have both let in significantly fewer than Madrid, who had conceded an average of more than a goal per game.

Indeed, Madrid have kept only one clean sheet from their last 13 outings across all competitions, and it is the same record in La Liga alone in a streak which stretches back to December 9. It is an area of their game where they simply must improve.

Real Madrid have been in fine scoring form here at the Bernabeu, though, winning their last four games in front of their own fans and scoring 15 goals in the process - having only won one in five at home before that. Incredibly for a team of Real Madrid's calibre and dominance, they have not won five home games in a row since November 2016, but they have the chance to achieve that this evening.

In La Liga alone that scoring record improves to 19 goals in their last four games - an average of 4.75 per game - but they have lost as many home outings in their last 12 La Liga outings as they had in their previous 57, so there is no longer an air of invincibility around the Bernabeu.

That will encourage a Girona side who have made a habit of upsetting the odds so far this season, to the extent that it is easy to forget that this is their first ever campaign in the top flight of Spanish football.

Many may have expected them to go straight back down or at least be fighting for their lives against relegation zone - particularly after only coming up as runners-up in the Segunda Division last season - but as it is they sit a full 22 points clear of the bottom three.

Indeed, rather than fighting against relegation Girona can allow themselves to dream of qualify for Europe for the first time in the club's history this season.

Girona come into this match sitting seventh in the table and Sevilla's defeat at Leganes earlier today means that victory at the Bernabeu would see them climb up to sixth - a position which would see them into the Europa League next season. Should they achieve that then it would be a truly remarkable feat.

That bad news for Girona - and good news for Real Madrid - is that they can no longer also leapfrog Villarreal in the table as they have launched a late comeback to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 this evening, lifting themselves up to fifth in the table and now four points clear of Girona.

Even so, the fact that we are even talking about Girona in the same breath as the likes of Sevilla and Villarreal is testament to how impressive they have been this season.

There were early signs of this when Girona opened their campaign with a draw against Atletico and then backed that up with their first ever top-flight win, but two points from their next six La Liga games suggested that they would be in for a difficult campaign after all.

However, they have done brilliantly to stay in the top half and come into this match in superb form having won four of their last four games, including each of their last three - identical form to Real Madrid's over the last five games.

Unlike Real Madrid, Girona have been solid defensively during that run, keeping four clean sheets during their last five outings - although the one exception did see them ship six goals at the Camp Nou last month.

Another clean sheet tonight would see them keep four in a row for the first time ever in La Liga, and should they pull off a famous victory then it would be four La Liga wins in a row for the first time ever too. Girona's only previous run of three top-flight wins on the bounce also included that memorable win over Madrid in the reverse fixture, incidentally.

Most of the stats suggest that Girona will make things difficult for Madrid tonight, then, but there will be concern regarding the visitors' away form, having one won one of their last seven on the road.

That victory did come in their most recent away game, though, as they recorded a very impressive 2-0 win at Villarreal, meaning that another win here would hand them back-to-back triumphs on their travels for only the second time this season.

Girona's away form this season has certainly not been dreadful either, particularly when compared to other La Liga teams, with only the top four having lost fewer matches on the road.

Even so, their best form is at home, where they have remarkably won all of their last six La Liga matches without conceding a single goal in the process. Away from home Girona have drawn with Atletico this season, but they were soundly beaten at Barcelona whereas at home they have beaten Real Madrid and also drawn against Atletico.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the Bernabeu now, which means that it is time for a prediction!

Girona have been so impressive this season that it is hard to back against them, but when it is Real Madrid at the Bernabeu then that is a different story. Their title hopes may be long gone, but they are in good form at the moment and Ronaldo is back firing on all cylinders. I'm going for a comfortable home win.

SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Real Madrid 2-0 Girona

At this stage I usually look at the previous head to head record between the two teams in question, but these two have only ever met once before - and Girona must be one of very few teams to have a positive record against Madrid!

Today's visitors pulled off the biggest result in their history when the two sides first met in October, falling behind to an early Isco strike only for Stuani and Portu to respond in the space of four second-half minutes and seal a famous win for Girona.

This will be Girona's first visit to the Bernabeu, then, and if they can pull off another victory to complete the league double over Madrid then that would eclipse even October's triumph.

The odds are against them, of course, but they will still fancy their chances and should come into this match full of confidence following their recent form.

Isco's opening goal in the reverse fixture arrived after just 12 minutes, and that has been something of a theme for Girona this season as only Deportivo have conceded more goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches.

However, Girona have also scored seven goals in that period of games this season, which is a tally only two teams - one of whom is Real Madrid - can beat, so we should be able to expect a quick start tonight.

Right, the players are out and it's almost time for kickoff at the Bernabeu. A quick reminder of the team news...

REAL MADRID STARTING XI: Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo; Kroos, Kovacic, Vazquez; Ronaldo, Benzema, Asensio

GIRONA STARTING XI: Bounou; Ramalho, Espinosa, Juanpe; Maffeo, Pons, Graneli, Mojica; Portu, Stuani, Garcia

KICKOFF: Here we go then! Girona get us underway at the Bernabeu!

Real Madrid are seeing the lion's share of possession in these opening exchanges, as expected, but Girona are not parking the bus by any means. They look willing to give it a go any time they have the ball.

Early chance for Real Madrid to test the Girona keeper as Asensio wins a free kick in a very good position...

SAVE! Ronaldo goes for goal and puts plenty of power behind his effort, but it is too central and the keeper tips it over the crossbar.

CHANCE! The first big chance falls the way of Real Madrid and, while they are lucky to see it bounce kindly for them, Vazquez really should score. An attempted clearance from Girona hits one of their own men and bounces to Benzema, who pokes the ball into the path of Vazquez. Vazquez suddenly finds himself clean through on goal, but he hits his effort straight at Bounou.

Mojica played an important part in defending that chance for Vazquez, with his cover preventing the Madrid man from putting it any further to the side of the keeper.

SAVE! Girona have their first sight of goal as Garcia cuts inside onto his right foot and gets a shot away, but it is fairly comfortable for Navas.

Almost another chance for Madrid as Ronaldo and Benzema combine to find Vazquez in another good position, but the keeper manages to get a challenge in and knock it behind for a corner.

Real Madrid have the lead, and it is Cristiano Ronaldo who breaks the deadlock with a really smart finish inside the area!

Kroos plays a corner short before getting the ball back and picking out Ronaldo with a loss pass into the area. Ronaldo's movement earns him a yard, and that is all he needs to steer his finish into the bottom far corner.

Ronaldo made the finish look easy, just swinging his weaker left foot to sweep it into the bottom corner, but it was not an easy one by any means as the ball arrived to him at some pace.

CHANCE! I said to expect a quick start, and Girona almost respond immediately as Mojica's cross from the left finds Portu at the back post. He towers above Marcelo at the back post, but steers his header just wide.

CHANCE! Another chance for Ronaldo here as he collects a diagonal ball inside the area before cutting inside, but he skews his finish well wide of the target. A rare miskick from the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Girona do look like they have a goal in them tonight, but Madrid also look dangerous almost every time they come forward and their attacking movement is causing the visitors some problems at the moment.

SAVE! Bounou is called into action again, although this is a routine stop for the keeper as he gathers Asensio's tame low effort.

SAVE! Madrid come sweeping forward again, this time down the left flank as Vazquez exchanges passes with Ronaldo before curling an effort towards goal which is easy for Bounou.

DISALLOWED GOAL! Vazquez does have the ball in the back of the net, but the linesman's flag is up. It is a delightful disguised pass from Kroos to play him in, and the replay shows that Vazquez was actually onside, but Ronaldo's presence in an offside position may well have confused the linesman.

Some good football from Girona sees them sweep forward and momentarily Stuani is all on his own. He is not seen by his teammate, though, and the chance to play him through on goal goes begging.

Real Madrid do look a little nervous when defending crosses into the box tonight, so they will want that second goal just to give themselves a cushion here.

CHANCE! Big chance for Girona to level things up! It is poor defending from Madrid as they give the ball away in a very dangerous position, and Portu immediately pounces on it. He darts into the box, but just can't steer his toe-poke on target.

Girona stun Real Madrid once again! Carvajal conceded a free kick moments after that Portu chance, but the visitors take full advantage from the resulting set piece.

The ball is swung into the area and Stuani meets it with a thumping header having lost his marker inside the area. Navas stood no chance!

YELLOW CARD! Mojica is the first player in the book this evening as he catches Carvajal with a flailing arm.

Benzema tries to squeeze a pass through to Ronaldo, but the Portuguese knows that he is offside so doesn't go for it. Real Madrid could really do with a quick response here.

SAVE! Ronaldo finds space to shoot from range and arrows a dipping strike towards goal which Bounou does well to hold on to.

Another chance for Madrid to test Bounou here as Kroos goes down off the ball after being blocked off. Free kick in a shooting position - a long way out but still within Ronaldo range.

SAVE! Ronaldo actually gives up the free kick duties to Asensio, who draws a good save from the keeper with a decent effort.

Real Madrid may feel a little hard done by considering they have had a good goal wrongly disallowed tonight, but Girona deserves great credit once again for their performance so far. They are holding their own.

Mojica bursts down the left and delivers a tantalising ball right into the corridor of uncertainty, but it is just too far in front of Stuani and Portu.

Yet another free kick in shooting range for Real Madrid, and this time Ronaldo is the only contender to take it. It is a long way out again...

SAVE! Ronaldo's strike deflects off Varane which takes the sting off the ball, but Bounou still needs to scramble across and make the save.

Unconvincing goalkeeping from Navas as he comes to claim a cross but spills the ball, almost at the feet of Garcia.

There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.

CHANCE! Half a chance right at the end of the half for Ronaldo as he tries an acrobatic effort, but he gets it all wrong and the chance goes begging.

The first half comes to an end at the Bernabeu, and Girona continue to do themselves great credit by taking a 1-1 draw into the halfway stage of this clash with Real Madrid.

The hosts have seen the vast majority of the ball as expected, but Girona have held their own and have had chances of their own as well which could have even seen them go into the break ahead. It is all to play for in the coming 45 minutes!

The opening goal arrived after only 11 minutes as Ronaldo continued his brilliant form in front of goal, peeling away from his marker and sweeping a good finish into the bottom far corner from inside the area.

Ronaldo made it look simple on his weaker left foot - if he has a weaker side - but it was anything but as the ball was arriving to him at some pace from Kroos's pass.

Girona levelled things up just before the half-hour mark, though, as they stunned the Bernabeu into silence and set themselves possibility on course for another famous victory over the might of Real Madrid.

It was a thumping header from Stuani for his 16th league goal of the season as he lost Carvajal before planting his finish into the corner, leaving Navas no chance in the Madrid goal.

Madrid should really be ahead having seen a goal wrongly disallowed for offside against Vazquez, although to be fair to the officials it was a difficult one as Ronaldo - who was arguably involved - had strayed into an offside position.

There have been chances for the hosts aside from that, but Girona have also looked dangerous when coming forward and this one is still balanced on a knife edge. Can Girona pull off the league double over Madrid in their first ever top-flight campaign?

KICKOFF: Real Madrid get us back underway for a very interesting second half at the Bernabeu!

What a start to the second half for Real Madrid as Ronaldo doubles his tally for the night!

It is a really good move from the hosts as Kovacic gives the ball to Benzema, who in turn pokes a clever pass into the path of Ronaldo. Ronaldo's pace takes him away from the defence, and from that point there is only one outcome as he slams his effort in off the underside of the crossbar.

That is now 15 goals in his last eight appearances for Ronaldo, and 19 in his last 10. A seventh brace in his last 11 outings! Incredible form.

Stuani goes down right on the edge of the area as Carvajal makes a clumsy challenge from behind. Stuani wants a penalty, Madrid don't think it should be anything and the ref awards a free kick.

YELLOW CARD! Carvajal has also gone in the book for that foul.

SHOT! Mojica takes it on despite it favouring a right footer more, and sure enough he fires it well over.

Marcelo swings a dangerous cross into the box which Ronaldo is interested in, but it is turned behind for a corner before it can reach the hat-trick-hunting forward.

SAVE! The resulting corner is met by Ronaldo, but cannot get enough power on his effort to really trouble the keeper.

Girona haven't offered much so far in this second half, but as long as the deficit remains one they are still in this game. We have already seen that they can be a threat from set pieces.

Ah. We'll put that one down to the commentator's curse.

Real Madrid add a third to perhaps put this game to bed as Vazquez finishes off a really good team move. Marcelo finds Benzema down the left flank and the Frenchman plays a low ball in to Ronaldo, who collects the ball with his back to goal. He has a bit of space to work with, but unselfishly tees up Vazquez, who passes his finish into the bottom corner.

Less than half an hour remaining in this one now, and it would be an almighty shock if Girona were able to recover from this. They have had a superb season and have looked good again tonight, but Real Madrid at the Bernabeu looks like being a step too far at this stage.

OFF THE BAR! Madrid aren't going to be content with just the three goals, though. Marcelo plays a flick down the left for Asensio, who whips a delightful ball into the box. Nacho, for some reason, is the furthest forward and he climbs highest in the area only to see his header come off the crossbar.

It is yet another hat-trick for Cristiano Ronaldo, and he won't score too many easier goals than this one!

The ball is played in to Benzema, who really should score himself having collected possession in space inside the box. He has time to pick his spot but sees his effort saved by Bounou. However, the ball only bounces to the feet of Ronaldo, who slams the rebound in from close range.

Ronaldo just cannot stop scoring at the moment - to give you an update that is now 16 goals in his last eight games. SIXTEEN!

Now then! Perhaps this one is not over just yet!

Stuani gets his second of the night as he again beats Carvajal to the ball inside the box, diverting his header past Navas and in. This time the contact is much less clean, but Navas is wrong-footed and the ball bobbles in for give Girona their second.

GIRONA SUB: Change for the visitors here as Antony Lozano replaces Garcia.

Oh Girona have a great chance to break here as Portu drives forward down the right and has Stuani free in a two-on-one situation. However, he doesn't put enough on his pass and that allows Kroos to make a crucial interception.

REAL MADRID SUBS: Double change for the hosts here as Luka Modric and Gareth Bale replace Vazquez and Asensio.

Less than 20 minutes remaining in this match now and Madrid have just taken their eye off the ball a little since that fourth goal. Girona have reacted well, and fears that they may be on the end of a hiding are beginning to subside again now.

Girona win a free kick in a good position here, but it may be just too far out for a shot at goal, with Granell standing over it...

This time the delivery from Granell is poor, though, and Navas collects it before looking to release a quick counter which ends with a poor pass from Ronaldo.

Yet another free kick for Girona in a good crossing position, but once again Madrid deal with Granell's delivery. The hosts are giving Girona chances to get themselves back into this game, though.

CHANCE! Sure enough, one of the free kicks does provide Girona with a really good chance as Granell's deep delivery is met by Stuani, but he cannot get enough on his header when he should have scored!

CHANCE! Real Madrid have completely switched off here. A poor pass gifts possession to Girona in a very dangerous area and leaves Navas scrambling, but he eventually manages to do enough to mop up the danger at the expense of a corner.

Girona deserve huge credit for this performance. They have come to the Bernabeu and attacked Real Madrid, and even though it looks as though they may fall short, they have given it a really good go.

REAL MADRID SUB: The hosts make their third and final change as Isco replaces Benzema.

GIRONA SUB: Girona respond with a change of their own as Aday Benitez comes on for Maffeo.

This Ronaldo hat-trick is the 50th of his career, by the way, 44 of which have come for Real Madrid. The mind boggles.

Gareth Bale gets in on the act to well and truly end Girona's hopes here as two former Tottenham players combine!

Modric slides a pass through for Bale, who beats an untidy offside trap before sweeping his finish past the keeper, who got a touch but could not keep it out.

GIRONA SUB: Girona respond with a change as Stuani is replaced by Olunga.

CHANCE! Chance for Girona to get another quick response as Olumga is immediately involved, teeing up Portu who draws a save from the keeper.

Girona refuse to go down without a fight here! You have to admire the minnows, who have scored three times on their first ever visit to the Bernabeu.

All three have been headers too, with Juanpe this time rising unmarked inside the area to plant a header home from a corner.

There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.

What a game this has been! We have our ninth goal of the evening, and Ronaldo has his fourth as he latches on to a pass from Kroos and fires his first-time finish past the keeper!

SAVE! The action keeps going to the last here, with Olunga forcing a smart save from the keeper.

What a game. A truly remarkable contest comes to a close at the Bernabeu as Real Madrid run out 6-3 winners against a Girona side who continue to win admirers for their plucky spirit and willingness to attack even the best teams.

Ultimately Ronaldo was the difference tonight with a four-goal haul to continue his incredible recent goalscoring form, while Vazquez and Bale were also on the scoresheet for the hosts. Girona never gave up, though, and a brace from Stuani and Juanpe saw them fight right to the end in this thrilling contest. They very much played their part here tonight!

Right, I need a lie down after that!

Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for this incredible match as Real Madrid beat Girona 6-3 courtesy of four goals from Cristiano Ronaldo. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for any reaction on site too. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!