Overview
Last season, Mallorca finished in 10th place in La Liga and was not considered a relegation candidate. However, this season is very difficult as they have only won 28 points after 29 matches and dropped to 18th place in the standings.
Coach Martin Demichelis' team once had a 2-1 victory over Espanyol on March 15, but immediately afterwards disappointed when they lost to Elche - an opponent who is also struggling to stay in the league - with the same score of 1-2.
Mallorca is currently only 1 point behind Elche (ranked 17th) and 3 points behind Sevilla (ranked 15th), so the relegation battle is still very open as the season has not come to an end.
At home, Mallorca showed a more positive face when they won 22 points after 14 matches, losing only 4 times. However, head-to-head history does not favor them when they have only won 1 in the last 11 matches against Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid entered the international holiday in March with a 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid, thereby continuing to chase the top spot in La Liga. Currently they are ranked second, 4 points behind Barcelona.
Coach Alvaro Arbeloa's team is in impressive form with a 5-game winning streak, including 2 wins against Manchester City to win a ticket to the Champions League quarter-finals.
Real Madrid will face Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals, but they are not allowed to lose focus in La Liga, because just one stumble can put them at a disadvantage in the championship race.
Notably, Real Madrid has the best away record in the league this season with 30 points after 14 matches, including 9 wins. They have also won all 3 recent encounters with Mallorca. The first leg of this season at the Bernabeu took place quite difficultly when the Royal team had to come back to win 2-1.
Personnel situation
Mallorca will welcome the return of Jan Virgili and Johan Mojica in the starting lineup in the upcoming match, after both were absent against Elche due to suspension.
However, the home team is still missing Jan Salas (knee injury) and Lucas Bergstrom (muscle injury), while Takuma Asano and Marash Kumbulla will have to wait for fitness checks before kick-off.
In attack, Vedat Muriqi continues to be the biggest hope as he is in impressive form with 18 goals in La Liga this season.
On Real Madrid's side, Federico Valverde is suspended, while Dani Ceballos, Rodrygo and Thibaut Courtois are all absent due to injury.
In addition, Ferland Mendy, Raul Asencio, Eder Militao and Vinicius Junior are also uncertain to play due to fitness issues. Notably, Vinicius is likely to only start on the bench after suffering a thigh injury during the national team training camp.
Jude Bellingham is also being considered for cautious use when he has just returned from injury and is expected not to start.
In that context, Thiago Pitarch, Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Diaz are likely to be given opportunities from the beginning.
Expected lineup:
Roman, Maffeo, Raillo, Valjent, Mojica, Costa, Mascarell, Joseph, Torre, Virgili, Muriqi.
Real Madrid: Lunin, Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras, Pitarch, Tchouameni, Camavinga, Guler, Diaz, Mbappe.
The match between Mallorca and Real Madrid takes place at 9:15 PM on April 4 (Vietnam time).
