Mallorca-Almeria
By: Jeremy | April 10th, 2009If anyone thought our recent run of seven unbeaten had taken us to the brink of safety. Think again. After last weeks loss to Atheltic, despite pretty much dominating the game, we now find ourselves back in fear of relegation. Not that the run of unbeaten games got us to a position of safety, nor did one loss relegate us, but things are so tight that with each passing week getting us closer to the big four, not being on the brink of safety is going to cost us in the end.
Is it me or does every opponent we face come to us after just finishing up their run with the big four. Almeria is the latest. Most teams are on poor form after that part of the schedule, and understandably so, but when they are pretty even on points with Mallorca, who finishes the season with those four tough games, something is wrong. Is Almeria really better then we are? After beating Villarreal last week, they might well be.
Almeria has done well this year and lead by surprise goal scorer, Alvaro Negrado, who has 17 goals, they are a lot closer to safety then we are, even if we do beat them this weekend. They beat us at home in the first half sending us on a streak of 9 games with no wins that basically put us in a must win mode every week of the second half.
Despite living up to the task of getting points when needed in the second half of the season, we still find ourselves two points from the drop zone. This only shows how badly we played in the first half of the season. It may be that last weeks games will be the vital results of the season as we lost a game we should have won while all of our relegation rivals pulled off unexpected points.
This game at home against Almeria may be the first of many must wins we face before the final four weeks of the season. Who will step up to make it happen. The home fans have been really supportive of late, but the team needs something extra from the players as we get closer to the end.
One situation that might be of concern is the fact Lux will be in goal for Mallorca this weekend. While he has been decent at times, its hard to come in without consistent playing time and do well. Aoute is out so we will need Lux to come up big, even if he is rusty. Diego Alves is out for Almeria.
Because Almeria is coached by one of the first players I ever followed while growing up in San Diego, I want them to do well. Hugo Sanchez was amazing not only in the NASL for the Sockers, but he went on to become a worldwide star for Real Madrid. However, I will be rooting against him this weekend.
Both teams see this is a must game, but the pressure is all on Mallorca. With the big four games still to come, they must maximize points, especially at home, in the next few weeks. As the team saw last week against Athletic, road games can be complicated and points hard to come by so home victories are a must. With Almerias road record, it should be a little easier. A loss will almost relegate us barring amazing performances in the last four weeks, but a win gets the confidence back which might bring safety and make the last four games meaningless. The up and down season will continue.
Prediction
Mallorca 3-2 Almeria
Category: Mallorca Team News
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