Real Madrid has nothing left to play for in La Liga other than not handing the title to Barça, for which they must win against Mallorca on Wednesday. This will be no easy task for Ancelotti, who will have to contend with a string of injuries that already complicated matters in El Clásico, forcing him to field a makeshift defense. They will face a Bermellón side fighting for a place in Europe and arriving at the Santiago Bernabéu highly motivated.
As we said, Real Madrid are coming off a defeat in their last league game against Barça, who are now seven points clear at the top of the table. The Whites got off to a good start at Montjuic with a brace from Kylian Mbappé, who ended the game with a hat-trick, but it was all in vain as Eric García, Lamine Yamal, and Raphinha scored twice to secure the win.
For Barça not to be crowned champions thanks to Real Madrid, the latter must beat Mallorca, who are ninth with 47 points, level with Rayo Vallecano (8th) and two points behind Celta Vigo (7th), who have 49 points. In addition, Valencia are just two points behind with 45 points. Jagoba Arrasate’s team will go all out for victory to secure a place in Europe.
Injury crisis at Real Madrid
Real Madrid went into El Clásico with six important players missing. In addition to the long-term injuries to Dani Carvajal and Militao, Alaba, Rudiger, Mendy, and Camavinga were also out. All of them are defenders except for Camavinga, who could well have started at left back for this match. If that wasn’t enough, the match at Montjuic added to the list.
With Asencio as the only center back, Ancelotti had to turn to Tchouaméni, who has already been called upon to play center back on several occasions, not always with the best results, but he is the only alternative available to the coach, who will now also be without him. The yellow card Aurélien Tchouaméni received in the 36th minute of the clásico in Barcelona leaves Carlo Ancelotti without a defense against Mallorca, as the Frenchman will have to serve a one-match suspension.
This will not be the only setback, as two other players were also injured in the match in Barcelona. Vinicius has “a sprained left ankle,” as could be seen when he was filmed by the cameras after the confusion surrounding his substitution in the match at Montjuic. In addition, Lucas Vázquez has a pectineus muscle injury and will also be unavailable.
Possible Real Madrid XI
Goalkeeper: Courtois
Defenders: Fran García, Jacobo Ramón, Asencio, Fede Valverde
Midfielders: Ceballos, Luka Modric, Bellignham, and Arda Güler
Forwards: Endrick and Mbappé
Arrasate also has players out
Manu Morlanes, Robert Navarro, and Abdon Prats are still recovering from their physical problems, and it seems that Chiquinho will also be unavailable due to discomfort.
Possible Mallorca XI
Goalkeeper: Leo Román
Defenders: Mojica, Copete, Raíllo, Valjent, Maffeo
Midfielders: Samú, Mascarell, Darder, Antonio
Forward: Larin