Real Madrid look to defend the La Liga crown as they travel to Mallorca on the opening weekend of Spanish first tier football on Sunday. Los Blancos finished 10 points ahead of rivals Barcelona last season and won their 36th La Liga title and are now nine ahead of second place.
Mallorca finished the season in 15th and will now take part in their fourth consecutive year in the Spanish top flight. The club spent a six season break from La Liga between 2013 and 2019 which saw them drop to the third tier for the first time since the 1980s. The one time Copa del Rey winners will be looking to solidify their La Liga status this season before challenging some of the teams higher up in the near future.
Real Madrid come into the game fresh from winning the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta in mid week. All of their players who played in that final look set to be fit for this weekend’s game. Kylian Mbappe announced himself to Real Madrid fans with a debut goal in the 2-0 victory. Federico Valverde also scored in that game, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr got the assists.
Mallorca’s last game was a friendly against Bologna in which they drew 1-1. Bologna are a good side so that was a strong test for them. It is likely that the club will avoid relegation this season, but a fixture against Real Madrid is not one they’ll be looking at for a win.
Last season, Real Madrid won this fixture 1-0 both home and away and I see it being a similar story here, but probably with more goals for the visitors. Last year, their main striker was Joselu and, no offence to him, Mbappe is a significant upgrade in that position. Los Blancos will just be too strong for Mallorca to even lay a glove on them.
Our team of experts have decided that the best tip for this game is for Real Madrid to win to nil. With 13/10 odds on Parimatch, a £10 bet could see potential returns of £23.
The match kicks off at 8:30pm BST on Sunday 18th August. Coverage of the match is available in the UK on ITV4.
Mallorca: D. Greif, P. Maffeo, M. Valjent, A. Raillo, J. Mojica, T. Asano, S. Costa, S. Darder, O. Mascarell, D. Rodriguez, V. Muriqi
Real Madrid: T. Courtois, D. Carvajal, E. Militao, A. Rudiger, F. Mendy, F. Valverde, A. Tchouameni, J. Bellingham, Rodrygo, K. Mbappe, Vinicius Jr
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