Atletico Madrid will be bidding to strengthen their grip on a top-four position in the La Liga table when they travel to relegation-threatened Mallorca on Saturday night.
Diego Simeone's side sit fourth, six points ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, while Mallorca occupy 16th, six points clear of the relegation zone heading into the final straight.
Match preview
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Mallorca finished ninth in La Liga last season, but there has been a drop-off this term, with the team currently in 16th spot and not yet certain of their top-flight status for the 2024-25 campaign.
Javier Aguirre's side, who were runners-up in this season's Copa del Rey, are winless in the league since the middle of March, picking up just two points from their last four matches, and they were held to a 1-1 draw by fellow strugglers Cadiz last time out.
The Pirates are 16th, only six points clear of 18th-placed Cadiz with five games left, so they can still drop into trouble in the closing stages of the campaign.
Mallorca are aiming to make it three straight seasons in the top flight, and their fixture list after this one is relatively kind, so it would be a surprise to see them in the bottom three at the end of the season.
Aguirre's team have picked up 22 points from their 16 home league matches this season, only suffering four defeats, while they have conceded just 13 times in front of their own fans in 2023-24, which is the third-best record in the division.
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Atletico will not be in the mood to hand out any favours this weekend, though, as the capital outfit are locked in a battle for fourth with Athletic.
Simeone's side recorded a huge 3-1 victory over Athletic last time out to take charge of fourth, now boasting a six-point advantage over the Lions, but their work is not complete when it comes to securing Champions League football for the 2024-25 campaign.
The Red and Whites have again been excellent at home this season, boasting the best record in the division in front of their own fans, picking up 46 points from 17 matches, but they have struggled on their travels, suffering eight defeats from 16 games, collecting only 18 points.
Atletico managed to reach the quarter-finals of this season's Champions League, meanwhile, but they were knocked out by Borussia Dortmund courtesy of a 4-2 loss in the second leg of their last-eight clash.
The capital team will be looking to do the double over Mallorca this season, having recorded a 1-0 victory in the reverse match back in November, but they lost 1-0 when they last visited the Pirates in November 2022.
Team News
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Copete served a one-game suspension for Mallorca against Cadiz last time out, but the Spaniard will not be available for selection this weekend due to a calf issue.
There are no further fitness problems for the hosts, and head coach Aguirre is expected to largely stick with the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle last time out.
There could be a change in a wide area, though, with Antonio Sanchez bidding to be involved, while Abdon Prats and Cyle Larin are options in attack, should Aguirre decide to change his formation.
As for Atletico, Antoine Griezmann will sit this match out through suspension, having picked up a milestone booking in the home success over Athletic last time out.
Gabriel Paulista, Memphis Depay, Thomas Lemar and Marcos Paulo are all still injured, but Stefan Savic is available again, having missed the game with Athletic due to a ban.
Alvaro Morata is expected to be introduced in the final third of the field as Griezmann's replacement, but the likes of Saul Niguez and Pablo Barrios are set to feature among the substitutes once again.
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Gonzalez, Valjent, Raillo, Nastasic, Maffeo; D Rodriguez, S Costa, Mascarell, A Sanchez; Muriqi
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Witsel, Gimenez, Hermoso; Molina, De Paul, Koke, Llorente, Lino; Correa, Morata
We say: Mallorca 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Atletico's away form has been so disappointing this season, and Mallorca do not give up many goals in front of their own fans, so we are struggling to back an away success with any real conviction. Mallorca are fighting for points to stay out of the bottom three, meanwhile, and we can see a low-scoring draw occurring this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
