On the back of a Champions League defeat to Manchester City, Atletico Madrid will aim to bounce back and continue their fine league form on Saturday, when they make the trip to Mallorca.
A run of six straight victories has seen the defending champions climb back into the top three of the La Liga table, while their hosts sit in an unenviable position in the fight for survival.
Match preview
© Reuters
With 26 points from their opening 23 games following promotion from the Spanish second tier last season, Mallorca looked to have put themselves in a good position to avoid an immediate drop, but they have since suffered a sharp dip in form.
Following back-to-back wins over Cadiz and Athletic Bilbao, Los Piratas have now lost their last seven matches in La Liga, conceding 14 goals and only scoring four in the process.
That dismal run has seen Mallorca, now under the management of Javier Aguirre, drop into the relegation zone, still with 23 points to their name from 30 matches.
Most recently, the newly-promoted side travelled to Getafe for a crucial relegation six-pointer, and Borja Mayoral's goal ensured they left empty-handed after a 1-0 defeat, seeing them fall further behind a rival in the battle for survival.
Now two points adrift of safety with eight games to play, hope is certainly not lost for Aguirre's men, but they will know they must quickly reverse their fortunes and Saturday presents another tricky test in their bid to do so.
© Reuters
Atletico Madrid will arrive keen to extend their eye-catching run of league form, having quickly risen into a much stronger position in the Spanish top flight.
In what has been a particularly underwhelming title defence on the whole, Los Colchoneros sat outside of the top four with 11 wins and 39 points from their first 24 outings, but they have since gone on to post six straight wins.
After most recently extending that by thrashing Alaves 4-1, with Joao Felix and Luis Suarez each hitting braces, the capital club returned to continental action last time out, travelling to take on Premier League champions Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Tuesday.
In what was a solid defensive display, Simeone's side eventually fell to a 1-0 defeat due to Kevin De Bruyne's goal, but they may not be overly disheartened going into the home leg with only a narrow deficit to overturn against one of the favourites to win the competition.
For now, Los Colchoneros will turn their attention back to domestic action, as they aim to leapfrog Barcelona and climb into second place in La Liga.
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Mallorca will be missing centre-back Franco Russo through suspension, after he was sent off in the eventual defeat to Getafe.
Vedat Muriqi will lead the attack, while Lee Kang-in and Takefusa Kubo are both vying for starts, having failed to impress under the new manager so far.
Atletico Madrid remain without key centre back Jose Gimenez due to an injury, while Hector Herrera is also sidelined.
However, left-sided player Yannick Carrasco will return to contention after he was suspended for the Manchester City clash, and he could come straight back into the side with Sime Vrsaljko likely operating on the other flank.
Exciting young forward Joao Felix will lead the line, having hit five goals in his last four league games, while Simeone may opt to rotate his strikers and start Luis Suarez after Antoine Griezmann was preferred in the Champions League.
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Rico; Gonzalez, Baba, Olivan, Gaya, Maffeo; Sevilla, Battaglia, Rodriguez; Nino, Muriqi
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Savic, Felipe, Reinildo; Vrsaljko, De Paul, Kondogbia, Llorente, Carrasco; Felix, Suarez
We say: Mallorca 0-2 Atletico Madrid
Keen to bounce back from Tuesday's defeat and with their sights set on the top two, we see Atletico Madrid outclassing their hosts on Saturday, given their impressive run of form and Mallorca's lack of any momentum.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Atletico Madrid win with a probability of 47.72%. A draw had a probability of 26.2% and a win for Mallorca had a probability of 26.06%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atletico Madrid win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.23%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.15%) and 0-2 (9.01%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.42%), while for a Mallorca win it was 1-0 (8.43%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 8.4% likelihood.
