Real Madrid and Mallorca will battle for a spot within the Spanish Super Cup remaining on Thursday at King Abdullah Sports City.
Los Blancos enter the semifinal as reigning La Liga champions, whereas Mallorca secured their place as Copa del Rey runners-up final season.
Madrid, contemporary off lifting the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in December with a 3-0 win over Pachuca, have been in positive type.
Their 4-2 victory over Sevilla of their remaining 2024 match was adopted by a dramatic 2-1 win towards Valencia final Friday.
Despite Vinicius Junior’s crimson card, Luka Modric’s equalizer and Jude Bellingham’s stoppage-time winner propelled Madrid to the highest of La Liga, holding a five-point lead over third-placed Barcelona.
Carlo Ancelotti’s squad continued their momentum with a 5-0 win over Deportivo Minera within the Copa del Rey, advancing to the final 16 and increasing their unbeaten streak to seven aggressive matches.
Now, their sights are set on defending the Super Cup, a title they received in 2023 after defeating Barcelona 4-1.
Real Madrid has triumphed of their final three Super Cup semifinals, and their confidence is excessive heading into Thursday’s match.
Mallorca, coming into the Super Cup for the primary time, face a tricky problem. After a robust Copa del Rey marketing campaign final season, they narrowly misplaced to Athletic Bilbao within the remaining, and their league type has positioned them sixth below Jagoba Arrasate’s administration.
However, their current type has been inconsistent, with three losses of their final 5 matches, together with a disappointing 3-0 defeat to fourth-tier Pontevedra within the Copa del Rey.
Nevertheless, Mallorca can take coronary heart from their 1-1 draw towards Madrid of their season opener, and they’re going to purpose to trigger an upset.
A repeat of that consequence would ship the sport into additional time, with Mallorca hoping to safe their first win over Madrid since February 2023.
Madrid can be with out defensive duo Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao for the rest of the season because of ACL accidents, whereas David Alaba is nearing a return however received’t characteristic within the Super Cup.
Vinicius is on the market for the semi-final regardless of his suspension in La Liga. Kylian Mbappe, with 13 objectives already this season, will make his Super Cup debut.
For Mallorca, midfielder Samu Costa, who has missed the final three matches with a muscle harm, has been included within the squad, however his health stays unsure.
Defensive duo Antonio Raillo and Antonio Sanchez can even be assessed after lacking coaching.
Arrasate is predicted to make a number of modifications from his squad that misplaced to Pontevedra, with key gamers equivalent to Dominik Greif, Pablo Maffeo, Sergi Darder, Cyle Larin and Vedat Muriqi all vying for beginning spots.
Source: www.dailysabah.com