Mallorca boosted their survival hopes by bringing one point from Mestalla, but they now face another very difficult task as they take on high-flying Atletico Madrid. Los Colchoneros beat Granada at home before recording a 3-0 away win over Besiktas in Europa League and they will fancy their chances at Iberostar Estadi.

Great comeback at Mestalla

Mallorca are already used to fighting for La Liga survival and the team have learned long time ago to cope with the pressure of lingering around the relegation zone. The team have done well to avoid dropping into the bottom three so far, but being six points clear of endangered sides, they cannot afford to relax just yet. The Islanders have been doing well at their Iberostar Estadi, having beaten Real Betis and Villarreal before sharing spoils with Osasuna, but their away performances are not nearly as good, even if the 2-2 draw at Valencia ended their three-match losing run on the travels. Mallorca did well to come from two goals behind at Mestalla and earned a credible point, but they now need to make that point count by beating Atletico Madrid, which is not going to be easy. The hosts clearly lack the quality to match their more illustrious opponents and they can only hope Atletico produce an under-par performance on Sunday.

Fernando Tissone and Marvin Ogunjimi are doubtful with an ankle injury, whereas Tomas Pina Isla could return after the two-week lay-off.

Atletico on a high

Heavy summer spending almost proved to be in vain as Atletico largely struggled to fulfill their potential under Gregorio Manzano, but the club chiefs diagnosed the problem midway through the season and decided to appoint their former player Diego Simeone at the helm. That proved to be a great move as the Argentine helped the players restore the lost confidence and soon the fans were able to see the real Atletico. As a result, los Colchoneros have lost just once in 14 games under Simeone, while winning no less than eight games during that period. Atletico demonstrated real class by recording a 6-1 aggregate win over Besiktas in Europa League and after the 3-0 win at Inonu Stadium in Istanbul, widely regarded as one of the most difficult grounds to play at, they can be trusted to continue the good run of results against struggling Mallorca.

Fran Merida and Antonio Lopez are back in contention, but Diego, Tiago and Silvio continue to miss out.

Verdict

Mallorca are playing well at their Iberostar Stadium, but they do appear to lack some quality needed to match the best sides in the league. Atletico Madrid are on top of their game at the moment and they are much closer to winning this game than their opponents.

Our prediction: Atletico Draw no bet

Odds: 1.73 (8/11)

Bookmaker: Stan James