Mallorca go on the offensive

A sell-out crowd will watch Real Mallorca go on the offensive tonight as the team try to battle back from a 3-1 deficit against Celta in the Copa del Rey quarter-final second leg. Last Wednesday Mallorca did their best against a Valery Karpin inspired Celta as well as a referee intent on making poor decisions. After taking a 1-0 lead Mallorca found themselves hit for three in a second-half which featured some diabolical challenges from Karpin and a red card for Mallorca midfidler Marcos. The hot-tempered match ended with a near-brawl after the whistle and with coach Luis Aragones half-strangling a Celta fan at Vigo airport. In a bid to create an intimidating atmosphere for Celta, Mallorca officials reduced ticket prices for tonight's match to under 1000 pesetas and all are now sold-out. Karpin will no doubt take the brunt of the Mallorca fans' frustrations, although the Estonian midfidler said on Monday he was not worried about any backlash from his antics last Wednesday. Aragones, who has high hopes for the Copa, said yesterday that overcoming the deficit will be “difficult, but not impossible. We will do everything possible to qualify for the semi-finals.” The suspended Marcos misses tonight's match as does the injured Ariel Ibagaza meaning Luis Carreras and “Chi Chi” Soler start the game. Celta, who have been training behind closed doors at Luis Sitjar, will start with Karpin and the talented, if ageing, Alex Mostovoi in midfield.