Real Madrid will be aiming to open up an 11-point lead at the top of the La Liga table, at least temporarily, when they resume domestic action away to Mallorca on Saturday evening.
Los Blancos will enter the contest off the back of a 3-3 draw with Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, while Mallorca suffered disappointment in the Copa del Rey final last weekend, losing to Athletic Bilbao on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
Match preview
Mallorca went in search of their second Copa del Rey trophy in Seville last Saturday, and the contest with Athletic needed a penalty shootout to decide the winner following a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes of action.
Javier Aguirre's side only managed to net twice in the shootout, and with Athletic perfect from their four penalties, the Basque outfit triumphed, with Mallorca left wondering what might have been.
The Pirates will now switch their attention back to La Liga, and they are certainly looking over their shoulder entering the final straight, with a relatively disappointing campaign seeing the team pick up just 31 points from 30 matches, which has left them in 15th position in the table.
Aguirre's team are only six points ahead of the relegation zone, but they have lost just one of their last five matches in Spain's top flight, which was a 1-0 reverse at Barcelona on March 8.
Mallorca have picked up four points from their last two league games with Granada and Valencia, and the home side will be bidding to take advantage of the fact that Real Madrid's full attention will not be on this match.
Real Madrid were involved in a pulsating Champions League quarter-final first leg with Man City on Tuesday evening; Los Blancos trailed 1-0 and 3-2 on home soil but answered back on both occasions to ultimately draw 3-3, and the tie is delicately poised ahead of the return game in Manchester next week.
Naturally, there will be less focus on this match due to the huge contest in England, and Carlo Ancelotti's side are quite comfortable at the top of the La Liga table, boasting an eight-point advantage over second-placed Barcelona, who will travel to Cadiz on Saturday night.
A defeat for Real Madrid here, though, and a win for Barcelona at Cadiz, would make the gap five points ahead of El Clasico on April 21, so the title race could be blown wide open in the next two matchdays, especially considering Barcelona's brilliant form at this stage of the season.
Los Blancos are on a three-game winning run in La Liga, beating Celta Vigo, Osasuna and Athletic Bilbao since last dropping points away to Valencia, and they have only lost once in Spain's top flight this season, which was a 3-1 reverse against Atletico Madrid at the end of September.
Real Madrid have the best away record in La Liga this season, picking up 34 points from 15 matches, but Mallorca have only lost three of their 15 home league fixtures this term.
Mallorca also beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the corresponding clash between the two teams last term, while it was a tight match at Bernabeu back in January, with Ancelotti's side only running out 1-0 winners.
Team News
Mallorca lost Toni Lato to an injury in the Copa del Rey final, and the left-sided defender is now expected to be unavailable for selection until the end of the month.
Dani Rodriguez and Copete also picked up fitness problems against Athletic, with the pair set to be unavailable, so there are likely to be spots in the XI for Antonio Sanchez and Matija Nastasic.
There will also be a return between the sticks for number one goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic, while Jaume Costa is also expected to be brought into the team as the left-sided wing-back on Saturday night.
As for Real Madrid, Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba remain unavailable due to serious knee injuries, but the capital giants did not pick up any fresh fitness issues against Man City.
Head coach Ancelotti is expected to ring the changes ahead of the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final, with Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy, Eduardo Camavinga, Toni Kroos, Federco Valverde and Rodrygo all likely to be rested.
Aurelien Tchouameni is suspended for the second leg of the last-eight affair, though, so the France international will be in the starting side for this match.
Eder Militao is in line to make his first start since last August, meanwhile, with the Brazilian's fitness set to be tested before Ancelotti decides whether to start him alongside Rudiger against Man City next week.
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Gonzalez, Valjent, Raillo, Nastasic, J Costa; Darder, S Costa, Sanchez; Muriqi, Larin
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Lunin; Vazquez, Militao, Nacho, F Garcia; Ceballos, Tchouameni, Modric; Bellingham; Vinicius, Brahim
We say: Mallorca 1-2 Real Madrid
Real Madrid will not be at full strength on Saturday, which will certainly boost Mallorca's chances of picking up a positive result.
We came incredibly close to backing a draw here, especially as Mallorca have not lost many at home this term, but Real Madrid's quality should allow them to navigate their way to a vital three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
