Mallorca v Real Madrid – Preview, Prediction, TV Listings, Betting Odds – La Liga – 14 January 2012
Manchester United have lost their last two league matches as they host 18th place Bolton Wanderers in the English Premier League. The match will take place at Estadio Son Moix in Palma, Spain on Saturday, January 14, 2012. Kickoff is scheduled for 14:00 EST (USA Eastern), 19:00 GMT (UK time), and 20:00 CET (Central Europe).
Mallorca v Real Madrid TV Listings
The match will be televised on ESPN Deportes (USA), GolTV (Canada), Sky Sports (UK), C+ (Spain/France/Poland/Finland/Sweden/Norway), Digi Sport (Romania), Al Jazeera Sport (Middle East), Sky Sport (Italy), Sport TV2 (Portugal), Sport 1 (Lithuania), Sport 2 (Hungary), and SuperSport (Africa)
Mallorca v Real Madrid Preview
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho
“We’re about to face Mallorca in the league, so there’s no point in talking about Barcelona now. It’s good for the media because you sell more and work less, but I’m not going to think about them right now because I’m not interested at the moment.”
“The league championship is a priority for us. The match against Mallorca is very important; right now it’s the most important one. Three important points will be at stake and we have to take as many as we can to avoid our most immediate opponent from catching up with us. We’ll have to do our very best to win. We dropped points last year and there’s still that risk. Mallorca have improved considerably and their morale is high following their shower of goals in the Copa del Rey. They’re better than ever.”
“I hope the Copa tie does not distract my men. We’re about to face Mallorca and Athletic Bilbao in games that will be difficult enough to have them lose focus. I’ll do everything I can to avoid that. Tomorrow’s match is most important, like all other games in the league. It’s a priority. The Copa del Rey is also an important championship and we’ll have to fight for it. We’re the defending champions, but the league is too important for us to focus on other fixtures that, despite also being important, aren’t as much.”
“Di Maria has no chance of making the cut for the game and we’ll have to see if he’s recovered by next week. We’re not going to use any rotation system or protective changes on the lineup. We shouldn’t cry about Khedira’s injury either or use it as an excuse. He is an important player and we’ll miss him, but that’s that. We lost Higuain last season. That’s what the squad’s there for. Those who get a chance will have to prove they are players worthy of Real Madrid.”
“Carvalho is training without limitations and will not be featured in the medical report, but he won’t travel to Mallorca either because he has yet to get used to the pace of competing. I can’t seem to find a spot for Sahin right now. The preseason is over and he hasn’t played many games. He has to continue working hard to be ready when the time comes.”
“We’ll face the second half of the season with the same players we had at the start. We’re sure of this. We’re not interested in either buying nor selling.”
“Cristiano Ronaldo is a centre forward and his free-kick efficiency should be compared to that of players on other teams, if that’s what one wishes to do. Do you have the others’ numbers? We’re talking about the latest Golden Boot winner! The only player who’s scored more goals than Cristiano is a player from Estonia.”
Mallorca player Dudu Aouate
“We must run faster than them because they’re better than us in quality, we must work hard, play as a team and use all our strengths. We believe we can play well”.
“This is a different match; Real Madrid is a very strong team which has been winning many consecutive matches and is the leader in Primera Division. It’s five points ahead of Barcelona and is not only strong in home matches, but also thrashes its rival in away matches.”
“I want the three points now and against Barça in order to reach Mallorca’s aim.”
“If we didn’t have any chances, we wouldn’t show up at the match; the best team is not always the one which wins, this happens in football. We’re going to work believing that we’re going to play well and get the three points”.
“They are more united, they run a lot and could allow themselves to run less with Mallorca, but they play hard as if it was their last match. The game will be hard because of their first-class players who run being well positioned. In this regard, they’re not superior to us, their quality is better but we run faster”.
“Cristiano is an excellent player, one of the best and almost scores a goal in every match. As goalkeeper, I don’t have any doubt he’s one of the best and is always ready to score. I’m not afraid of him at set-pieces, I’ve been in the Spanish league for many years and I saved the best strikers’ shots. Cristiano has a great control of the ball and kick it with strength rather than with precision, and the ball sometimes changes direction. Higuaín is one of the best strikers that I faced; now Benzema scores a lot of goals and makes a great job”.
La Liga Team Stats
| Mallorca | Real Madrid | |
|---|---|---|
| Matches Played | 17 | 17 |
| Table Position | 14 | 1 |
| Points | 19 | 43 |
| Goal Difference | -7 | 45 |
| Goals for * | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| Goals against * | 1.0 | 0.6 |
| Last 5 | D-L-W-D-D | W-W-L-W-W |
| Last 5 home | L-D-W-D-L | W-L-W-W-W |
| Last 5 away | D-W-D-L-D | W-W-W-W-W |
| * Goals per match – home matches for home club and away matches for away club | ||
| Mallorca | Real Madrid | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | Tomer Hemed 5 | Cristiano Ronaldo 21 |
| Assists | Ángel Di María 13 | |
| Yellows | Tomás Pina 10 | Xabi Alonso 6 |
| Reds | Pedro Bigas 1 | Pepe 1 |
Upcoming La Liga Fixtures
| Mallorca | Real Madrid | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/14 | Real Madrid | 1/14 | @Mallorca |
| 1/22 | @Rayo Vallecano | 1/22 | Athletic Bilbao |
| 1/29 | @Espanyol | 1/29 | Real Zaragoza |
| 2/5 | Real Betis | 2/5 | @Getafe |
| 2/12 | @Málaga | 2/12 | Levante |
Mallorca v Real Madrid Prediction
Real Madrid wins 2-0
Mallorca v Real Madrid Betting Odds
Mallorca win – 10/1
Draw – 9/2
Real Madrid win – 2/7
