Having gone four games without victory, Atletico Madrid desperately need a morale boosting win before the Copa Del Rey return leg against Real Madrid. Mallorca, on the other hand, continue to impress and they now look to overturn los Colchoneros in the LA Liga standings.
Four games without victory
This could be a crucial week for Atletico Madrid seeing that they will face Real Madrid in Copa Del Rey return leg after the Mallorca game, before traveling to Gijon to play Sporting on Sunday. Los Colchoneros are certainly struggling for form, so a couple of good results this week would have the power to kick-start this season. Quique Sanchez Flores’s side face a tough task against high-flying Mallorca, but they clearly have more than enough quality to win this game. Atletico played a very good game at Santiago Bernabeu in midweek, but they ended up losing the game after a couple of cheap defensive mistakes and if these are reduced to the minimum, the hosts will have a good chance to return to winning ways.
Kun Aguero and Mario Suarez miss out through injuries, but Tiago Mendes returns after recovering from a hamstring problem.
The Islanders flying high
Mallorca are enjoying a very good season under the guidance of talented Michael Laudrup and they seem to have recovered well from the latest slump in form that threatened to ruin their good start of the La Liga campaign. Mallorca successfully ended the four-match losing run as they hammered Hercules before getting revenge on Almeria for the Copa Del Rey elimination by beating them 4:1 in La Liga. The latest results prove Michael Laudrup’s side are a real force to be reckoned with at their Iberostar Estadi, but problems arise when they leave the Balearic Islands, and after losing last three away games, they are likely to experience problems at Vicente Calderon as well.
The visitors have some important absentees as Ramis and Luis Marti are out injured, while Tuni and Corales did not make the cut this time.
Verdict
Atletico clearly have more potential than they are showing, but there are signs that they could soon be out of crisis. Los Colchoneros remain very convincing at home and Mallorca are definitely a team they can beat, especially as los Bermellones are largely struggling on the travels and are missing two important players.
Our prediction: Home win
Odds: 1.85 (17/20)
Bookmaker: Intertops.com