Barcelona take on Girona aiming to deliver hammer blow to Real Madrid's La Liga hopes

Catalan giants can establish 15-point lead with victory and close in on first league title since 2018

Barcelona take on Girona in La Liga aiming to bounce back from their Copa del Rey disappointment. Getty

Barcelona will aim to bounce back from a disappointing Copa del Rey exit to Real Madrid by having the last laugh over their arch rivals when the Catalan giants face Girona in La Liga on Monday night.

Barca appeared well set to reach the Spanish Cup final when they held a 1-0 lead over Real after the first leg in Madrid, but a 4-0 defeat at Camp Nou last Wednesday ended their hopes of a first domestic double since 2018.

However, Xavi and his side can console themselves by continuing their emphatic march to the Liga title. Barcelona hold a 12-point advantage over second-placed Real, who slipped to a shock home defeat to Villarreal on Saturday.

Despite twice leading, Real were beaten 3-2 at the Bernabeu and manager Carlo Ancelotti admitted his team struggled for "motivation" as the Champions League holders keep one eye on their quarter-final first-leg clash with Chelsea on Wednesday.

Barcelona, who were eliminated from the Europa League last 16 by Manchester United, can focus solely on their domestic duties and next up in their pursuit of a first league trophy in four years is a home clash against 11th-placed Girona.

Barca won the reverse fixture 1-0 at Girona's Estadi Montilivi and another victory will take the Catalans 15 points clear of Real with 10 games of the season remaining in what would surely be a hammer blow to the Madrid giants' hopes of retaining the title.

Barcelona are expected to be without key midfielder Pedri and winger Ousmane Dembele, with both players recovering from hamstring injuries, while midfielder Frenkie De Jong and defender Andreas Christensen are also set to be absent.

Girona, meanwhile, will be aiming to deliver a shock result at Camp Nou and Barca will be wary of their attacking prowess: only Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have scored more La Liga goals than Girona's 42 this season.

They will be without loan forward Reinier, who is serving a suspension for the red card he received against Espanyol when he verbally abused the referee from the bench.