Real Madrid will be bidding to make it seven straight wins in all competitions at the start of the 2022-23 campaign when they return to La Liga action against Mallorca on Sunday afternoon.
Los Blancos, who are top of the table, will enter the match off the back of a 3-0 victory over Celtic in the Champions League, while 11th-placed Mallorca drew 1-1 with Girona in the league last time out.
Real Madrid enjoyed a brilliant 2021-22 campaign, winning a La Liga and Champions League double, and they have already claimed silverware for this season, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in the UEFA Super Cup on August 10.
Los Blancos have also made a perfect start to their La Liga campaign, beating Almeria, Celta Vigo, Espanyol and Real Betis to sit top of the division on 12 points, two points clear of second-placed Barcelona, who will believe that they can launch a strong challenge for the title this term.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side were in Champions League action on Tuesday evening, meanwhile, recording a 3-0 victory over Celtic in Glasgow courtesy of goals from Vinicius Junior, Luka Modric and Eden Hazard.
Real Madrid have three more games before the international break, welcoming RB Leipzig to Bernabeu in the Champions League next week before facing Atletico Madrid in the Madrid derby on September 18.
Ancelotti’s team have not lost at Bernabeu in La Liga since Barcelona beat them 4-0 back in March, while they are unbeaten against Mallorca in Madrid since May 2009, including a 6-1 victory over the Pirates in the corresponding league fixture last term.
Mallorca finished 16th in La Liga last season on their return to the top flight, and they are bidding to make it successive campaigns at this level of football for the first time since 2013.
Los Bermellones opened their 2022-23 campaign with a goalless draw against Athletic Bilbao before suffering a 2-1 defeat at home to Real Betis in their second match of the season.
Mallorca have taken four points from their last two games, though, recording a 2-0 victory at Rayo Vallecano on August 27 before playing out a 1-1 draw with Girona last time out, which has left them in 11th spot in the table.
Javier Aguirre’s side will take on Real Madrid and Barcelona in two of their next three matches, and they are not the fixtures that will determine whether the team can avoid relegation this term.
Mallorca do have a recent win over Los Blancos to their name, though, triumphing 1-0 in October 2019, and the visitors will be the fresher of the two sides, having not been in action since last Saturday.
Real Madrid La Liga form:
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Real Madrid form (all competitions):
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Mallorca La Liga form:
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We say: Real Madrid 3-1 Mallorca
Mallorca are certainly capable of making this a tricky encounter for Real Madrid, but we are finding it difficult to back anything other than a home success. Los Blancos will be missing their star forward but still have more than enough quality to collect all three points in front of their own supporters this weekend.