Barcelona hopes to stop the loss of points and hold on to the top spot in the Spanish Football League when it visits Real Mallorca on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, while its rival and pursuer, Real Madrid, the defending champion, faces a tough test on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, in the Basque Country against Athletic Bilbao. In two matches presented in Stage 19 due to the four teams being busy with the Super Cup competition.
Barcelona enters the match with Mallorca, ranked sixth, on the back of three consecutive league matches without a win, as it lost to Real Sociedad 0-1, then tied with Celta Vigo 2-2, before falling, last Saturday, at home to Las Palmas 1. -2, in the fifteenth stage.
As a result of this disappointing series, Real Madrid is only a point away from its rival with a postponed match for the Royal Club, which makes German coach Hansi Flick’s team required to return with the three points from Mallorca Stadium so as not to risk losing the lead.
These two matches were presented due to the four parties being linked to the Super Cup competition scheduled in Saudi Arabia between January 8 and 12 next, with Real Madrid participating as champion of the league, Barcelona as runner-up, Bilbao as runner-up, and Mallorca as runner-up.
After the defeat against Las Palmas, Flick said, “We have to play as we did at the beginning of the season. It is a big disappointment.”
He added: “We had 70 percent possession of the ball, but we were not able to score. Maybe we have to make one or two changes. We made mistakes, but the blame does not fall on the defense four, because the defense starts with the attacking players.”
It is expected that Flick will not make a change to the back line and rely on Frenchman Jules Conde, Pau Cobarci, Iñigo Martinez and Alejandro Balde, despite the latter suffering a blow to his throat in Saturday’s match.
If Balde is unable to participate, Gerard Martin will be ready to replace him, while Marc Casado will return to midfield after missing the Las Palmas match due to suspension.
After they sat on the bench on Saturday, Dani Olmo is supposed to return to the starting lineup, similar to Lamine Jamal, who returned against Las Palmas from an ankle injury and participated as a substitute.
Gamal’s return to the starting lineup for the first time in nearly a month will restore Barcelona’s striking attacking power and free up Polish duo Robert Lewandowski and Brazilian Rafinha against a team coming off two wins over Las Palmas in particular (3-2) and Valencia (2-1), and is ten points behind. Foreground.
At the “San Mamés” stadium in the Basque Country, Real Madrid will face a much more difficult task than Barcelona, as it will be a guest on Bilbao, which occupies fourth place after emerging victorious from the last two stages in a series of nine consecutive matches without defeat in the league and the “Europa League” competition. “, specifically since its loss to Girona 1-2 on October 6 in the ninth stage, after a match during which it missed two penalty kicks and conceded a fatal goal in substitute time. The lost.
Real Madrid regained its balance on Sunday by defeating its neighbor Getafe 2-0, after losing in the middle of the week to Liverpool, England, 0-2, in the Champions League competition of which it holds the title.
Englishman Jude Bellingham and Frenchman Kylian Mbappe scored the third consecutive victory for Real Madrid in the league.
Mbappe’s goal was important for the morale of the French star, especially after he missed a penalty kick against Liverpool, and his Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti praised him, saying: “He played very well and was active and dangerous as always. He scored an important goal and created chances in the second half and played a very active match, and this is what we want.” “From him.”
Real fans gave a lot of support to Mbappe, who played in his preferred position on the left in light of the injury of Brazilian Vinicius Junior.
Ancelotti continued: “The fans understand more than anyone the moment that the team and the players are going through,” adding, “We suffered many injuries (but) we are here fighting and struggling. What gives me confidence is that we have a good attitude again, focus, and high morale. We will work on Solve the problems we faced little by little, and at the same time we will be there to fight.”
Real hopes to consolidate its superiority over Bilbao, as it has not tasted defeat against the Basque club in the league since March 7, 2015, when it fell to the Basque club 0-1 before achieving a series of 18 consecutive matches without losing to its competitor.
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