Real Madrid vs Mallorca Preview:
Ppossible starting lineups:
Real Madrid :
Courtois; Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, Mendy; Kroos, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Rodrygo, Hazard, Vinicius
Mallorca:
Rajkovic; Copete, Raillo, Valjent; Maffeo, Battaglia, Sanchez, Rodriguez, Costa; Muriqi, Kang-in
Real Madrid host Mallorca at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday afternoon. The reigning champions had a perfect start in the new season - six victories in six matches across all competitions. Los Blancos sit on the top of the table with maximal 12 points. Real managed to beat Almeria, Celta Vigo, Espanyol and Betis. Real also beat 2:0 Eintracht Frankfurt in UEFA Super Cup, as well as Celtic in the Champions League with 3:0. Three gols were scored by three different players - Vinicius Junior, Luka Modric and Eden Hazard. Ancelotti will try to secure three more victories before the international break, against Red Bull Leipzig in the Champions League and Mallorca and Atletico Madrid in La Liga. However, the Italian coach has big injury issues ahead of this match. He will be without the services of Karim Benzema and that's a huge handicap. He is the player and best scorer in the team. Eder Militao is also sidelined after picking up injury against Celtic, while Alvaro Odriozola is out with a muscular problem. Some rotation is expected as veteran midfielder Luka Modric need a rest. Most probably he will be replaced by Eduardo Camavinga. Rodrygo could also come in for Federico Valverde.
Mallorca have collect five points from the first four rounds. They played a goalless draw in Bilbao, lost at home to Betis, beat Rayo Vallecano as guests, while last week shared the points with Girona. Los Bermellones finished 16th in La Liga last season on their return to the top flight, and avoiding relegation is their main task again. The fact they are unbeaten on the last two games could means they are improving, but another positive result at Santiago Bernabeu will definitely pleased the fans. Their upcoming schedule is very difficult as Mallorca will face Real Madrid and Barcelona in two of their next three rounds. Coach Javier Aguirre is well aware these games are not where points are expected, but positive result against top teams could mean a lot for the players confidence. The Mexican coach also has some injury worries - Dominik Greif is definitely sidelined with a hip problem, while Iddrisu Baba, Amath Ndiaye and Angel Rodriguez are also expected to miss the game through injury. Aguirre usually play with a 3-5-2 formation, but may decide for a more defensive option. That means one of two strikers, Vedat Muriqi and Lee Kang-in, could start from the bench.
Real Madrid vs Mallorca Prediction:
Real Madrid are first with maximal 12 points. They also managed to beat 3:0 Celtic in the Champions League. However, I don't think Mallorca will be destroyed at Bernabeu. There are three reasons for my pick. First, Real players are tired and Ancelotti must rest some of them. Second, Mallorca are unbeaten on the last two games and the players confidence is higher. And third and most important, Real will be missing Karim Benzema through injury.
Real Madrid vs Mallorca Pick: Mallorca + 1.5 AH @ 2.16 with
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