Atlético Madrid will be looking to put Wednesday’s heartbreaking loss behind them, as they travel to RCD Mallorca on Sunday for another matchday in LaLiga.
Wednesday night saw a depleted Atleti squad narrowly lose, 3-2 to Liverpool at Anfield, in the UEFA Champions League. And from now until the next international break, the fixtures are coming in thick and fast.
This weekend’s trip over to the Balearic Islands is the third of seven matches that fall in a 22-day period, which by the time we’re out
the other side, will have given a good indication of how this season is shaping up.
If Mallorca’s start to the season was a ferry crossing over to the mainland, it would be a turbulent, choppy one to say the least. Los Piratas currently sit 19th in LaLiga, with just one point in their opening four matches. Their defeats have come to Barcelona, Real Madrid and the best Espanyol side we have seen in recent years, but oddly enough, the results don’t seem to be their biggest issue.
Club captain Dani Rodríguez was stripped of his role, and even had his pay suspended for 10 days following a dispute with manager Jagoba Arraste. The 37-year-old veteran midfielder has since returned to training with the first team, but his manager has made it abundantly clear that he won’t be counting on him in his matchday selections for the foreseeable future.
Some journalists in Spain believe that Rodríguez isn’t the only one in the dressing room that shares those sentiments towards Arrasate, and that the division in the squad is more pertinent than first appeared.
Atlético Madrid will want to capitalise and lump further misery on the islanders as they look to secure their third straight win at the Estadio San Moix. In the previous two seasons, Diego Simeone’s side have snatched 1-0 away wins, but the two campaigns prior saw the result flipped the other way around.
Since Mallorca were promoted back to the top flight in 2019, this fixture hasn’t seen more than two goals scored. Atleti this season have taken the lead in all four of their games but are yet to score more than two in one match. This weekend’s hosts have also been unable to score more than two a game, and only Girona have conceded more goals than them in the league so far.
Perhaps the most memorable goal in this fixture from an Atlético point of view came in a 2-1 loss in the 2011/12 season, when Radamel Falcao clipped a beauty over the keeper’s head from inside the “D” on the edge of the box. The Colombian’s predecessor, Sergio Agüero, bagged a hat-trick in a 4-3 win the season before.
Team news
Of those who missed out on the midweek trip to Liverpool, it’s possible that none of them make their return to the team this weekend. It’s a certainty that José María Giménez, Álex Baena and Thiago Almada will be unavailable, and Johnny Cardoso won’t make the trip either.
Speaking in his press conference on Saturday morning, Simeone said Julián Álvarez’s condition will be assessed in the hours before kickoff, but he is unlikely to start in any case. With the amount of fixtures coming up, including a Madrid derby, la araña will be carefully managed in order to be fully fit for the most important matches.
El Cholo further revealed that Dávid Hancko’s ankle is better, so one would assume he will take his place back in the side. So far, Simeone has demonstrated little faith in Matteo Ruggeri, even selecting Javi Galán ahead of him at Anfield, meaning Hancko could slot in at left-back. This would of course leave the second center-back spot for Clément Lenglet.
With Cardoso ruled out, either Koke or Conor Gallagher will partner Pablo Barrios in midfield. Judging by recent performances, we can assume that if the captain is fit, he would get the nod over the Englishman.
Up top, Giacomo Raspadori could be rewarded for his good game in midweek, with Antoine Griezmann and Alexander Sørloth (especially) keen to be involved from the outset as well. New signing Nico González seems to have his place locked in on the left-wing, at least until Almada and Baena make their returns to the team.
Predicted lineup
Oblak; Llorente, Le Normand, Lenglet, Hancko; Giuliano Simeone, Barrios, Gallagher, Nico; Griezmann, Raspadori.
