UEFA Super Cup winners Real Madrid will get their 2024-25 La Liga season underway against Mallorca on Sunday. Carlo Ancelotti’s men are the reigning Spanish and European champions and now have Kylian Mbappe and Endrick added to their ranks. Los Blancos ended last campaign with a 10-point difference to Barcelona who finished second while this weekend’s hosts finished 15th just seven points above the drop zone.
It is Mallorca’s fourth consecutive topflight season which is their best run since 2013 although last year’s fairly close brush with the drop prompted a change in head coach with Jagoba Arrasate coming in from Osasauna. Three new faces in Villarreal’ Johan Mojica as well as free agents Takuma Asano and Mateu Morey while Predrag Rajkovic has departed. Los Bermellones have only beaten Real once in almost five years which was 1-0 home triumph in early 2023.
Real beat Mallorca 1-0 in each La Liga meeting last term and they will be big favorites here as Kylian Mbappe’s La Liga chapter gets underway. The French superstar already has a goal after the Super Cup win over Atalanta BC which saw Jude Bellingham played deeper. The Spanish and European kings have strengthened with Endrick too and will be keen to replicate last year’s effort which only saw one league loss. Ancelotti oversaw the best attacking and defensive record in La Liga and now the squad is stronger so expect a fast start.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday, August 18 | Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadi Mallorca Son Moix – Mallorca, Spain
- TV: ESPN Deportes | Live stream: Fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Mallorca +700; Draw +333; Real -225
New faces
Johan Mojica, Takuma Asano and Mateu Morey have all joined Mallorca in a cost-effective summer window with Predrag Rajkovic the main departure of note. The obvious new boys for Real are Kylian Mbappe and Endrick who already sampled silverware in midweek when Los Blancos won the UEFA Super Cup in Warsaw against Atalanta.
Team news
Mallorca: Javi Llabres has a muscle issue but Arrasate otherwise has a strong squad to choose from. A three-man backline is expected with Mojica and Asano set for possible debuts. Vedat Muriqi has 27 goals from 80 games with Mallorca in La Liga so far.
Possible Mallorca XI: Greif; Van der Hayden, Raillo, Gonzalez; Maffeo, Mascarell, D Rodriguez, Mojica; Darder; Muriqi, Asano.
Real: David Alaba is still recovering from his ACL injury last year but should return in 2024 while Eduardo Camavinga, is now set to miss at least a month through injury. Ancelotti is likely to go with Vinicius Junior, Mbappe and Rodrygo up top while Eder Militao is fully fit and should partner Antonio Rudiger in defense with Bellingham dropping deep in the middle once more.
Possible Real XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius.
Prediction
Real started with a win in midweek and should build on that here. Mbappe already has a goal to his name so do not be surprised if he opens his La Liga account here. Pick: Mallorca 0, Real 2.
