Real Madrid could open up a provisional 11-point lead at the top of La Liga on Saturday with a trip to RCD Mallorca. Carlo Ancelotti's men drew 3-3 with Manchester City in midweek while the hosts lost in the Copa del Rey final to Athletic Club on penalties after a 1-1 draw after extra time. It could have been the islanders' second title but their performance from the spot with only two penalties scored meant heartbreak in Seville for Javier Aguirre's side and delight for the Basques. Mallorca are now 15th in the table and just six points above the relegation zone, but just one loss in their last five which came against Barcelona.
The Pirates have taken four points from their last two games so will hope to catch Real focusing on their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg in England next week. It was a superb advert for European soccer with Real fighting back from 1-0 and 3-2 down to finish 3-3 with top spot in the Spanish topflight fairly comfortable regardless with eight points more than Barca who go to Cadiz. Should Real be held or beaten by Mallorca, Xavi's men could close the gap to five points ahead of El Clasico later this month. Los Blancos are on a three-game winning streak themselves and have only lost once in the league all season. The hosts did win this 1-0 last year, though, so there is potential for an upset result.
Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Saturday, Apr. 13 | Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadi Mallorca Son Moix -- Mallorca, Spain
- Watch: ESPN+ and Fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Mallorca +380; Draw +260; Real -133
Team news
Mallorca: Toni Lato is out injured while Dani Rodriguez and Copete also have knocks so Antonio Sanchez and Matija Nastasic could come in. Predrag Rajkovic should come into the XI while Jaume Costa could come in on the left instead of Lato.
Potential Mallorca XI: Rajkovic; Gonzalez, Valjent, Raillo, Nastasic, J Costa; Darder, S Costa, Sanchez; Muriqi, Larin.
Real: Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba remain out through injury so Ancelotti should rotate a number of regulars like Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy, Eduardo Camavinga, Toni Kroos, Federco Valverde and Rodrygo. Aurelien Tchouameni is banned next week so could start here while Eder Militao could start and audition to feature alongside Rudiger in Manchester.
Potential Real XI: Lunin; Vazquez, Militao, Nacho, F Garcia; Ceballos, Tchouameni, Modric; Bellingham; Vinicius, Brahim.
Prediction
Although they will be at half strength, Real should still be able to pick up all three points against struggling Mallorca although a draw would not be the biggest surprise. Pick: Mallorca 1, Real 2.
