Atletico Madrid will be aiming to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they welcome Mallorca to Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday evening.
Diego Simeone's side are second in the La Liga table, four points behind the leaders Real Madrid, while Mallorca occupy sixth position, one point ahead of seventh-placed Rayo Vallecano.
Match preview
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Atletico's 15-game winning run in all competitions came to an end on January 18, when they were beaten 1-0 by Leganes, but Simeone's team have won two and drawn one of their three matches since that setback.
The two successes have come in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen and Red Bull Salzburg, and they finished fifth in the Champions League table to secure their spot in the next round of the competition.
Atletico were held to a 1-1 draw by Villarreal in La Liga last weekend, with Samuel Lino cancelling out a penalty from Gerard Moreno, and the Red and Whites are firmly in the title picture at this stage of the campaign, sitting second, four points behind the leaders Real Madrid on the same number of matches (21).
Simeone's side have been excellent on home soil this season, picking up 27 points from 11 matches, remaining unbeaten in the process, and they will be hosting a Mallorca outfit that have lost five of their 10 games on their travels.
Atletico are on a four-game winning run against Mallorca, including a 1-0 success in the reverse match earlier this season, while both league games during the 2023-24 campaign also finished 1-0 to the Red and Whites.
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Mallorca have a recent away success over Atletico to their name, triumphing 2-1 in Madrid in December 2021, but it has not been a happy start to 2025 for Jagoba Arrasate's side.
Indeed, the Pirates have been beaten in each of their four matches this year, losing to Pontevedra in the Copa del Rey before suffering a 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Mallorca were then beaten 4-0 by Villarreal on January 20 before losing 1-0 at home to Real Betis last weekend, with their last success proving to be a 1-0 victory over Getafe on December 21.
Arrasate's team are still up in sixth position in the table, though, which would be enough to secure European football for next term.
Goals have been a real problem this season, only finding the back of the net on 19 occasions in 21 matches, which is the joint-third worst attacking record in the division, while they are only actually three points ahead of Sevilla in 12th, so a slide down the table could occur if their poor run continues in the coming weeks.
Team News
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Atletico will welcome Javi Galan back into their squad on Saturday following a suspension, but Rodrigo De Paul will be unavailable for selection due to a ban of his own.
Clement Lenglet missed the draw with Villarreal last weekend through injury, but he is also available and set to start, with Jose Gimenez expected to be his centre-back partner for this clash.
Antoine Griezmann scored twice against Salzburg in the Champions League and is set to continue alongside Julian Alvarez in the final third of the field, while Nahuel Molina and Conor Gallagher are both expected to earn recalls for this La Liga affair.
As for Mallorca, Ivan Cuellar will be back in the squad following a suspension, but Valery and Manu Morlanes remain unavailable for selection due to injury problems.
The visitors will also be missing Omar Mascarell due to the red card that the midfielder picked up against Real Betis, so there could be a start for Antonio Sanchez.
Vedat Muriqi featured off the bench against Real Betis last time out, and he could find himself among the substitutes for the first whistle once again, with Cyle Larin likely to be given the nod through the middle.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Llorente, Gimenez, Lenglet, Galan; Simeone, Barrios, Koke, Gallagher; Griezmann, Alvarez
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Greif; Maffeo, Raillo, Copete, Mojica; A Sanchez, Costa; Navarro, D Rodriguez, Darder; Larin
We say: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Mallorca
The last three La Liga matches between these two sides have finished 1-0 to Atletico, and we can see the same scoreline here - Mallorca are capable of making it a tricky game, but Simeone's side should be able to navigate their way to all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
