Atletico Madrid will look to make it four wins in a row across competitions when they hit the road to square up against RCD Mallorca.
Eighth-placed RCD Mallorca will be looking to return to winning ways when the host Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, who have been on a roll of late. The home team have accumulated 18 points in their 12 league outings thanks to five wins, three draws and four defeats.
While Los Bermellones did have a decent start to the new season, they have only won once since the start of October. Having been winless in their last two outings they will be eager to get things back on track, but it won’t be easy to go past the team from Madrid.
The visitors are currently third in the league with 23 points in their 12 outings thanks to six wins and five draws. Atletico Madrid are already ten points behind the league leaders Barcelona and cannot afford to drop any more points.
Since their defeat to LOSC Lilla and Real Betis, Los Rojiblancos have won their last three games and having got the better of PSG last time out, they will be confident of getting a positive result on this away trip to Mallorca. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
RCD Mallorca
Jagoba Arrasate will be without the services of Valery Fernandez, Ivan Cuellar, and Takuma Asano for this home fixture. Samu Costa is back from suspension, and he should make his way into the starting XI.
The home team will line up in a 4-4-2 formation, where Dominik Greif will take charge in goal. Pablo Maffeo and Johan Mojica will be the full-backs. They will take care of the flanks while Martin Valjent and Antonio Raillo will take charge in the heart of the defence.
Robert Navarro and Sergi Darder will feature outwide in the centre of the park. The duo will provide width to their attacks as well as help out their full-backs against opposition wide players. Samu Costa and Manu Morlanes will feature in a more central role looking to control the tempo. In attack, Vedat Muriqi should pair up with Cyle Larin.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Greif; Maffeo, Valjent, Raillo, Mojica; Navarro, Morlanes, Costa, Darder; Muriqi, Larin
Atletico Madrid
The visitors remain without the services of Thomas Lemar, Marcos Llorente, Robin Le Normand, and Cesar Azpilicueta. Diego Simeone will stick to the 4-4-2 formation, and Jan Oblak is expected to continue in goal.
Nahuel Molina and Javi Galan are expected to be the full-backs, with Jose Maria Gimenez and Clement Lenglet starting in central defence. The back four will be aiming for yet another clean sheet.
Rodrigo Riquelme and Conor Gallaher could feature out wide on the flanks, while Rodrigo De Paul and Koke will take charge in a more central role. Julian Alvarez will start alongside Antoine Griezmann in the final third of the pitch.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Oblak; Molina, Gimenez, Lenglet, Galan; Riquelme, De Paul, Koke, Gallagher; Alvarez, Griezmann
Key Stats
- Jagoba Arrasate’s RCD Mallorca have the joint-third worst attacking record in La Liga this season with just 10 goals in 12 outings.
- Atletico Madrid (7 goals conceded) are the only team to have a better defensive record in the league than RCD Mallorca (9 goals conceded) this season.
- The home team have only won one out of their last four league games.
- Atletico Madrid won the corresponding fixture 1-0 last season.
- Mallorca have only lost one league game at home this season.
Player to Watch
Antoine Griezmann
At 33, Griezmann is still the most important player in the Atletico Madrid setup. While he has four goals and six assists in his 17 outings this season, the former French international might not be happy with his output. He will look to add to his tally and help his team continue their winning streak when they face Mallorca away from home.
Prediction
RCD Mallorca 0-3 Atletico Madrid
Mallorca did have an impressive start to the new campaign, but they have been inconsistent of late. The home side have struggled to get the desired results of late having won just one out of their last four league games.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid have been on a roll winning their last three games, and they do have the quality in their ranks to make it four in a row. The Hard Tackle takes a closer at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could put to use.