La Liga Preview: Real Madrid - Real Mallorca

Two sides with virtually nothing to play for will be fighting merely to ensure that their season ends on a positive note.



Game Over

The inevitable happened last Saturday when Real Madrid officially relinquished their Primera Division crown to bitter foes, Barcelona, after putting up a long, courageous challenge from the start of the year.

Ever since the Santiago Bernabeu humiliation against the Blaugrana in El Clasico earlier this month, Juande Ramos’ soldiers have looked a pale shadow of the side that strung together 17 wins in 18 league games while racking up 44 goals and conceding just nine times.

With the title fight now out of the way, the focus has swiftly turned to the dawn of the next ‘White House’ dynasty as the reconstruction process begins. Presidential favourite, Florentino Perez, and his sidekick, Jorge Valdano, have reportedly been hard at work laying down the foundations for the squad they want to assemble during the summer, starting with the all-important coaching role while also zooming in on that one super galactic star signing which will promise the return of champagne football.

Sunday evening’s clash with Mallorca will be a dead rubber not just for Madrid but also their opponents. The Merengues have long sewn up second spot, thanks to a commanding 14-point bridge to third-placed Sevilla. But that doesn’t mean the Bernabeu faithful will allow their idols to waltz onto the pitch to discuss holiday plans with one another.

This will be the first time the ‘Men in White’ will be stepping onto their hallowed turf since the forgettable loss to Barca. And following two more disastrous defeats on the road, the fans will be demanding nothing but sheer entertainment and a convincing victory for their last home game of the season.

Finish With A Bang

Mallorca’s 2-1 win last weekend against the already crowned La Liga champions, Barcelona, all but guaranteed their spot in the top flight next season. But with only two games to go, they are well out of contention to sneak into the European places as they lie 11 points behind Villarreal in sixth.

The Balearic outfit are ending the campaign in sizzling hot form having won six of their last nine matches. It’s this phenomenal streak that launched them from certain relegation candidates just three months ago to a side who are now looking to better their seventh place finish last term.

Their fans can only wonder what the team might be aiming for in these last two rounds of the season had they had a better start or enjoyed a more consistent run during the middle stint of the campaign. Even in previous years, the modest Barralets have always been known to fly quietly under the radar before exploding to life towards the end.

Like Madrid, Mallorca will now be looking towards planning for the next term but in contrast, their main objective will surely be to fight to hang on to their current crop of players, rather than off-loading them and undergo a massive revamp. But despite losing a number of key figures down the years, the islanders always seem to have this uncanny ability to regroup and construct a new team capable of matching past achievements. And that will be the club’s minimum target for next season.


FORM GUIDE

Real Madrid

May 16 Villarreal 3-2 Real Madrid (LA LIGA)

May 09 Valencia 3-0 Real Madrid (LA LIGA)

May 02 Real Madrid 2-6 Barcelona (LA LIGA)

Apr 26 Sevilla 2-4 Real Madrid (LA LIGA)

Apr 21 Real Madrid 3-2 Getafe (LA LIGA)

Mallorca

May 17 Mallorca 2-1 Barcelona (LA LIGA)

May 09 Sevilla 3-1 Mallorca (LA LIGA)

May 03 Mallorca 2-1 Getafe (LA LIGA)

Apr 26 Recreativo Huelva 2-4 Mallorca (LA LIGA)

Apr 23 Mallorca 2-0 Real Valladolid (LA LIGA)


TEAM NEWS

Real Madrid

Fernando Gago and Marcelo return from suspension but the former is out with an injury. He will be joined on the sidelines by Christoph Metzelder, Wesley Sneijder, Gabriel Heinze and Michel Salgado.

Meanwhile, Guti’s Bernabeu career appears to have all but come to an end after being dropped from the squad for technical reasons. Juande Ramos has instead called up right-back from the cantera, Velayos, and he is expected to play some part.

Probable Starting XI (4-4-2): Casillas – Torres, Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Marcelo – Higuain, Lass, Javi Garcia, Robben – Huntelaar, Raul (c)

Mallorca

Luis Marti, Dudu Aouate and Lionel Scaloni are all out while Nunes has recovered from a muscular ailment. David Navarro and Gonzalo Castro have also regained full fitness after a recent injury and the pair are expected to start at the Bernabeu.

Probable Starting XI (4-4-2): Moya – Josemi, David Navarro, Ramis, Ayoze – Varela, Mario Suarez, Cleber, Arango (c) – Jurado – Aduriz


PREDICTION

Mallorca may not have much to play for but as always, they will be fired up to take the scalp of the capital superpowers. Madrid have been struggling for motivation in their last few games but this will be their final home encounter this season and the players will be eager to give the fans a nice send-off.

Real Madrid 2-0 Mallorca