Fresh from winning the UEFA Super Cup, Real Madrid will begin their 2024-25 La Liga campaign with a clash against Mallorca at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix on Sunday night.
Los Blancos are the defending Spanish champions, finishing 10 points clear of second-placed Barcelona last season, while Mallorca were 15th in 2023-24, seven points ahead of the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Mallorca are preparing to compete in La Liga for the fourth season in a row, which represents their best run at this level of football since 2013, but they were not comfortable during the 2023-24 campaign.
The Pirates finished 15th last term, seven points ahead of the bottom three, and they now have a new manager at the helm, with Jagoba Arrasate taking charge after leaving Osasuna at the end of last season.
Mallorca have made three signings this summer, bringing in Johan Mojica from Villarreal, while Takuma Asano and Mateu Morey have arrived on free transfers; the team's biggest departure has been Predrag Rajkovic, with the goalkeeper making a lucrative switch to the Saudi Pro League.
Los Bermellones have only beaten Real Madrid once in La Liga since October 2019, which proved to be a 1-0 success in front of their own supporters in February 2023.
Last season, Real Madrid won both league games 1-0, and Los Blancos will be the huge favourites to pick up all three points on Sunday, especially off the back of a strong performance in the UEFA Super Cup.
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Kylian Mbappe capped his Real Madrid debut with a goal on Wednesday, with the France international finding the back of the net in a 2-0 success over Atalanta BC, as Carlo Ancelotti's side won the UEFA Super Cup.
Jude Bellingham excelled in a deeper position for Los Blancos, and the capital giants are rightly again the favourites in La Liga and the Champions League this season considering their incredible squad, which has been strengthened by the arrivals of Mbappe and excellent young talent Endrick.
Real Madrid only played three pre-season games, losing to AC Milan and Barcelona before beating Chelsea, and they took their time to get going against Atalanta, but the second-half performance was excellent.
Los Blancos were comfortable in La Liga last term, collecting 95 points from 38 matches to finish 10 points clear of second-placed Barcelona at the summit, and they were only beaten on one occasion.
Ancelotti's side also had the best attacking record (87 goals) and defensive record (26 goals) in Spain's top flight last term, and they will be aiming to get their 2024-25 La Liga campaign off to the best possible start this weekend before finishing the month with matches against Real Valladolid and Las Palmas.
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Team News
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Mallorca will be without the services of Javi Llabres due to a muscular problem, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape for their opening match of the new campaign.
Arrasate is expected to implement a three-man defence this season, with Mojica, who was on loan with him at Osasuna last season, set to debut for the Pirates in this game.
There could also be a start in the final third of the field for Asano alongside Vedat Muriqi, who has scored 27 times in 80 league appearances for Mallorca.
As for Real Madrid, David Alaba remains unavailable for selection due to the ACL issue that he suffered at the end of last year, but the Austria international should be back before the end of 2024.
Eduardo Camavinga, meanwhile, picked up a knee injury in Tuesday's training session ahead of the UEFA Super Cup, and the Frenchman will be missing for at least the next six weeks.
Los Blancos did not suffer any fresh concerns against Atalanta, so it is likely that Ancelotti will name an unchanged side from Wednesday, with Vinicius Junior, Mbappe and Rodrygo starting in the final third.
Eder Militao is back to full fitness following a knee injury and should feature alongside Antonio Rudiger in the middle of the defence, while Bellingham is set to continue in a deeper midfield position.
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Greif; Van der Hayden, Raillo, Gonzalez; Maffeo, Mascarell, D Rodriguez, Mojica; Darder; Muriqi, Asano
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius
We say: Mallorca 0-2 Real Madrid
Mallorca are certainly capable of making this a tricky match for Real Madrid, with Arrasate an excellent coach. However, Los Blancos look so strong in all areas heading into the new league season, and we are fully expecting the champions to claim all three points in their campaign opener.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
