Preview: Mallorca vs Real Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups

Real Madrid will be aiming to move to within one point of La Liga leaders Barcelona when they resume their domestic campaign against struggling Mallorca on Saturday afternoon.

Los Blancos are second in the La Liga table, four points behind Barcelona, while Mallorca occupy 18th, one point behind 17th-placed Elche in the battle to remain in Spain's top flight.

Match preview

Mallorca finished 10th in Spain's top flight last season and had not been identified as a team that could struggle this term, but it has been a tough campaign for the Pirates, with a return of 28 points from 29 matches leaving them down in 18th spot in the division.

Martin Demichelis' side recorded a huge 2-1 win over Espanyol on March 15, but they suffered a damaging defeat to fellow strugglers Elche last time out, being on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline.

Mallorca are only one point behind 17th-placed Elche and just three from Sevilla in 15th, though, so it is not time to hit the panic button, with a lot of football left to play this season.

The Pirates have a relatively solid home league record this term, picking up 22 points from 14 matches, only suffering four defeats in the process.

Mallorca have only managed to win one of their last 11 matches against Real Madrid, but it was 1-1 when the two teams locked horns for the corresponding game during the 2024-25 campaign.

Real Madrid entered the March international break off the back of a 3-2 success over Atletico Madrid, with the result keeping them in the La Liga title race, sitting second, four points behind the leaders Barcelona, who will tackle Atletico in a fascinating clash on Saturday night.

Los Blancos will be looking for a favour from their capital rivals, and Alvaro Arbeloa's side will bring a five-game winning run into this match, including two successes over Manchester City in the Champions League to reach the final eight of the competition.

Real Madrid will take on Bayern Munich in the European Cup quarter-finals, with the first leg of their last-eight clash taking place at Bernabeu next week, but they cannot afford to take their eye off the ball in La Liga, as one more bad weekend could eliminate them from the title race.

Los Blancos actually have the best away record in the division this season, picking up 30 points from 14 matches, recording nine wins in the process.

Real Madrid have won their last three games against Mallorca, meanwhile, but the contest earlier this season at Bernabeu was tight, with the hosts coming from behind to record a 2-1 win.

Mallorca La Liga form:

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Real Madrid La Liga form:

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Real Madrid form (all competitions):

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Team News

Mallorca will welcome Jan Virgili and Johan Mojica back into their starting side on Saturday, with the pair available again after missing the clash with Elche last time out through suspension.

Jan Salas (knee) and Lucas Bergstrom (muscle) will again be absent for the hosts, though, while Takuma Asano (hamstring) and Marash Kumbulla (muscle) face late fitness tests.

Vedat Muriqi has been in excellent form during the 2026-27 campaign, finding the back of the net on 18 occasions in Spain's top flight, and he will continue in the final third of the field.

As for Real Madrid, Federico Valverde (suspended), Dani Ceballos (calf), Rodrygo (knee) and Thibaut Courtois (thigh) are unavailable for selection this weekend.

Ferland Mendy (hamstring), Raul Asencio (muscle), Eder Militao (hamstring) and Vinicius Junior (thigh) may also be absent for the capital giants on Saturday.

Vinicius has been carrying a thigh problem during the international break, and it is believed that the attacker will start on the bench against Mallorca.

Jude Bellingham is also being protected, having only just returned from injury, and the expectation is that the England international will also be among the substitutes for the first whistle.

As a result, there could be starts for Thiago Pitarch, Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Diaz.

Mallorca possible starting lineup:

Roman; Maffeo, Raillo, Valjent, Mojica; Costa, Mascarell; Joseph, Torre, Virgili; Muriqi

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Lunin; Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras; Pitarch, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Guler; Diaz, Mbappe

We say: Mallorca 1-2 Real Madrid

Mallorca are better than they have shown this season, and we are expecting Saturday's match to be a close one in terms of the scoreline; Los Blancos simply have to win, though, and we are backing the visitors to get the job done to close in on leaders Barcelona.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.