WHO: Real Madrid vs. Mallorca
What: Spanish La Liga - Day 36 of the match
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
when: Wednesday, 9.30 local time (19:30 GMT)
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Real Madrid will now face Mallorca at Santiago Bernabeu's home on Wednesday in a frustrated 4-3 win at El Clasico's Barcelona on Sunday as they desperately try to keep their La Liga title defense.
With three rounds of matches, the championship calculus is relatively simple: there really needs to continue winning, and hopefully Barcelona lost only two of all matches in 2025, losing the remaining three league games.
It's the key point of the Spanish Giants in their season 36 against Mallorca, who is currently ranked ninth on La Liga Ladder:
Classics and other La Liga Championships
Barcelona won a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Royals on Sunday, undoubtedly the most devastating defeat of Madrid's four El Clasico fixtures, which Madrid had to compete in their great rivals in the 2024-25 season.
On most days, star forward Kylian Mbappe scored two goals in El Clasico's opening 14 minutes before a hat-trick in the 70th minute, enough to bury any team in Spain's top flight - but Barcelona's exception.
Now, Real Madrid finds itself seven points behind the Catalonian Giants with three rounds left in La Liga.
The basic math is very simple: if a real loss or demarcation with Mallorca on Wednesday, they would win the La Liga title by countdown even if they lost the last three games; if Real Madrid beat Mallorca on Wednesday and Barcelona beat Espiro on Thursday, then Barcelona would win the title immediately.
How bad is Real Madrid's season?
Real Madrid started the season with lofty wishes to defend the La Liga title to complete a rare three-pointer: La Liga, Copa Del Rey and the Champions League.
They did win the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup this season, but were eliminated by Arsenal in the quarter-finals to SuperCopa and Copa del Rey finals.
Real Madrid's match against Barcelona this season is 0-4, and he lost the La Liga fixtures, as well as the aforementioned Super League and Cup Cup finals.
Ancelotti-Alonso distraction
Manager Carlo Ancelotti will leave Real Madrid for the second time despite signing Italians ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
After the 65-year-old all admitted that the media almost admitted that he might leave the club, his starting rate has been aired for weeks, and after a final loss to Barcelona on April 26, he may leave the club.
Also on Monday, multiple Spanish media reported that former Real Madrid star midfielder and current Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso will become the club's next boss when leaving the German club after this season.
Media reports said that Alonso, 43, is expected to join Real before the first FIFA Club World Cup in the United States from June 15 to July 13.
Team News - Real Madrid
Star forward Vinicius Junior will face Mallorca after suffering an ankle injury after a 4-3 loss to Barcelona on Sunday in a serious blow to the short-term prospects of Real Madrid.
Lucas Vazquez further depleted his regular starting XI, who was experiencing a thigh injury while Aurelien Tchouameni picked up a yellow card and would miss a key match on Wednesday.
Ancelotti explained to the media on Tuesday why the Brazilian star missed his third direct match, and he explained to the media that he was a key position in the bench during El Clasico, who had taken the seat during El Clasico and sat on the bench in recent matches.
"Rodrygo was shocked last week with a fever, which hindered his training and recovery. Today, he mentioned some thigh discomfort that required our careful attention. Later, he hasn't performed well yet. Despite the speculation of spinning, it's clear that Rodrygo is cherished by everyone, especially me, especially me."
David Alaba, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger and Dani Carvajal were all unavailable due to injuries.
Team News - Mallorca
Manager Jagoba Arrasate will play Leo Roman in place of goalkeeper Dominik Greif, the first choice goalkeeper for Real Madrid.
Major midfielder Robert Navarro is expected to miss the game as he battles the injury he suffered on March 2.
Abdon Prats, Chiquinho and Manu Morlanes are all doubtful about this fixture.
Possible lineups:
real Madrid: Courtyard Valverde, Valley, Rally, F Garcia; Bellingham, Modric; Guler, B Diaz, Endrick; Mbappe
Mallorca: Novels; Maffeo, Valgin, Raillo, Mojica; Mask, Samu; Asano, D Rodriguez, Darder; Muriqi
"Not over yet": Ancelotti
"Every game with Majorca is a battlefield - a fierce and intense battle. Although some key players were eliminated, we were ready to show a strong roster. Our goal was to win in these three games. The league's battle has not yet ended, and there is no choice for our opponents. We are sure that this challenging season ends in a winning season."
