After their UEFA Super Cup victory against Atalanta, Real Madrid will kick off their 2024-25 La Liga season with a match against Mallorca at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix on Sunday night.
The reigning Spanish champions, Los Blancos, finished last season 10 points ahead of their closest rivals, Barcelona. Meanwhile, Mallorca ended the 2023-24 season in 15th place, just seven points above the relegation zone.
Mallorca is set to participate in La Liga for the fourth consecutive year, marking their best stretch at this level since 2013. However, their performance in the 2023-24 season was far from comfortable.
The Pirates secured a 15th-place finish last season, keeping a seven-point gap from the relegation places. They now have a new head coach, Jagoba Arrasate, who took over after departing Osasuna at the end of last season.
This summer, Mallorca made three key signings: Johan Mojica from Villarreal, along with Takuma Asano and Mateu Morey on free transfers. Their most significant loss was goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic, who moved to the Saudi Pro League in a lucrative deal.
Since October 2019, Mallorca has managed to beat Real Madrid in La Liga only once, with a 1-0 victory at home in February 2023.
In the previous season, Real Madrid won both league encounters 1-0, and Los Blancos are heavily favored to secure all three points on Sunday, especially after their solid showing in the UEFA Super Cup.
Kylian Mbappe made an immediate impact on his Real Madrid debut, scoring in a 2-0 win against Atalanta BC on Wednesday, as Carlo Ancelotti’s side clinched the UEFA Super Cup.
Jude Bellingham performed admirably in a deeper role for Los Blancos, and given their amazing squad—which has been bolstered by the addition of Mbappe and talented young player Endrick—the capital giants are once again the favorites in both La Liga and the Champions League this season.
Real Madrid only participated in three preseason matches, winning one over Chelsea and losing to AC Milan and Barcelona. Against Atalanta, they started slowly but had a fantastic second half performance.
With only one loss in 38 games, Los Blancos finished 10 points ahead of Barcelona in second place in La Liga last season. They also finished with 95 points from 38 games.
In the previous season, Ancelotti's team led both the attacking (87 goals) and defensive (26 goals) records in Spain's top division. This weekend, they will look to start their 2024–25 La Liga campaign as strongly as possible before wrapping up the month
Due to a muscle issue, Mallorca will be missing Javi Llabres for their first game of the new season, but other than that, they are in excellent form.
This season, Arrasate is anticipated to play with a three-man defense, while Mojica, who spent last season on loan at Osasuna, is anticipated to make his Pirates debut in this match.
Asano may possibly start next to Vedat Muriqi, who has scored 27 goals in 80 league games for Mallorca, in the latter third of the field.
Due to an ACL injury sustained at the close of the previous season, David Alaba is still not ready for selection for Real Madrid; nevertheless, the Austrian international is expected to return before the end of 2024.
In contrast, Frenchman Eduardo Camavinga suffered a knee injury during Tuesday's training session in anticipation of the UEFA Super Cup. The Frenchman will be out for at least the next six weeks.
Since there were no new worries for Los Blancos against Atalanta, Ancelotti is probably going to start Vinicius Junior, Mbappe, and Rodrygo in the final third of the pitch.
