Diego Simeone staunchly defended striker Julian Alvarez, insisting Atletico Madrid fans should continue to believe in him ahead of their meeting with Mallorca.

Atletico are currently fourth in LaLiga on 41 points, eight behind leaders Barcelona after 20 games played.

They are currently unbeaten in four matches in the league, but the off-the-field talk is all about Alvarez, who has been linked with a move to Arsenal and Barca and has struggled in front of goal.

Without a LaLiga goal in nine games, more onus will be placed on Alvarez on Sunday as Antoine Griezmann is set to be sidelined through injury.

And Simeone was quick to throw support behind his compatriot when the forward's ability was questioned.

"Seriously? Are you seriously asking me that?," Simeone told reporters.

"The truth is that Julian Alvarez speaks for himself, because of the name he has, the authority he carries, and the career he's built, right?"

While Atletico are on a strong run in LaLiga, they have struggled for goals in the last few weeks, failing to net more than once in any of their last three matches in all competitions, having drawn 1-1 with Galatasaray in the Champions League in midweek.

Mallorca, though, have problems of their own, sitting 16th in the table, though they did beat Athletic Club 3-2 in their last outing.

Simeone has won 13 of his 15 LaLiga matches against Mallorca's Jagoba Arrasate (D1 L1) – no other manager has won more times against another in the entire history of the competition.

And the 55-year-old is determined to end their scoring troubles against Mallorca.

"The absence of a player like Antoine Griezmann is always felt, whether he starts the game or comes on as a substitute, as he was doing, but it's clear that he's always a very important player for the team," Simeone said.

"As we explained after Wednesday's match, always interpreting that final phase in the best possible way makes you stand out, and surely, with hard work and the energy and commitment that the team has, we will find possibilities to increase our scoring, which is what the game is all about."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Atletico Madrid – Julian Alvarez

Alvarez has not scored in any of his last nine LaLiga games, his longest run without a goal in the league since April 2024, when he went 10 matches without scoring for Manchester City in the Premier League.

However, despite that, he remains Atletico's top scorer in LaLiga this season, having netted seven goals so far, one more than Antoine Griezmann and Alexander Sorloth (both six).

Mallorca – Vedat Muriqi

With his hat-trick against Athletic Club on the last matchday, Vedat Muriqi became Mallorca's second all-time leading goalscorer in LaLiga (48 goals in 128 games), surpassing Juan Arango (46).

Only Samuel Eto'o, who scored 54 goals in 133 appearances for the Balearic side in the top-flight, has netted more.

MATCH PREDICTION: ATLETICO MADRID WIN

Atletico are unbeaten in their last six LaLiga games against Mallorca (W5 D1), their second-best unbeaten streak against them in the competition's history, after a run of nine matches between January 2000 and December 2005 (W7 D2).

And Mallorca have lost their last three away games against Atletico in LaLiga, failing to score in the last two of them. However, they have never gone three consecutive away games without scoring against them in the competition's history.

Atletico have won their last nine LaLiga matches at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, their best home run in the competition since December 2023 (17), when the Rojiblancos recorded the longest home winning streak in their history in the competition.

Meanwhile, Mallorca have won three of their last eight away games against Madrid teams in LaLiga (D1 L4), having lost 16 of their previous 20 visits against these sides in the competition (W2 D2).

But Mallorca have won just one of their ten away games in LaLiga 2025-26 (D2 L7), keeping a clean sheet in only one of these ten matches, a 0-0 draw against Real Oviedo last December.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Atletico Madrid – 69.3%

Draw – 17.5%

Mallorca – 13.2%