By Matt Smith
Throwing away a 2-0 lead against Barcelona last week summed up their campaign, and they now face a Mallorca side who are pushing to finish in the European places.
The two sides went head-to-head earlier in the campaign in the league, with Mallorca picking up an impressive point. They met again in the Super Cup back in January, but Madrid had too much for them as they ran out 3-0 winners.
The news that Carlo Ancelotti will be leaving to join the Brazilian National Team has recently emerged, so it will be interesting to see how the players react.
Team news
Madrid have a host of injury troubles to contend with heading into this one, recently naming their squad to face Mallorca. Vinícius Junior and Lucas Vázquez have recently joined a lengthy injury list, meaning Ancelotti has named a squad primarily filled with young talents with minimal experience.
Meanwhile, Abdón Prats, Robert Navarro, and Manu Morlanes are missing for the away side, while Chiquinho is a doubt.
Madrid are a little too top-heavy
Scoring goals has been no problem for Madrid this season. The addition of Kylian Mbappé has aided their production in the final third, finding the back of the net 2.1 times per game on average, with only Barcelona managing more. Defensively, however, they haven’t looked like a potential title-winning side.
Madrid have conceded 42.4 expected goals this season, more than seven other teams in the division. Letting in 1.1 goals per game, Ancelotti’s men don’t deserve to lift the title considering how Barcelona have performed, and they face an uphill task to do so from here.
Mallorca polar opposite to Madrid
Mallorca have conceded just three more goals than Madrid this season, but they find themselves sitting in ninth place. Finding the back of the net has been a major problem – the opposite to Madrid – scoring just 33 times in 35 league matches.
A win could take them into the European places, but if they fail to qualify by the end of the campaign, Jagoba Arrasate will be living to regret not getting more out of his players in the final third.
Mbappé has the pressure on his shoulders
With Vinícius and Rodrygo likely to be unavailable for the home side, the pressure will on the shoulders of Mbappé to provide the magic in attack. It’s certainly something he’s not been afraid of this season, best exemplified by his hat-trick against Barcelona last time out.
Despite Madrid’s struggles, Mbappé might be feeling like he could have done no more in the final third. Although winning the title is an almost impossible task, they’ll need the French international to continue performing at his best.
Prediction
Despite the injuries, there is too much on the line to predict against a victory for Ancelotti’s side. We’re going for a comfortable 3-1 victory to the home side.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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