Mallorca have certainly been more attack-minded than expected and Canada strike Cyle Larin looks to chase on to a ball forwards, but Andriy Lunin has a good starting position and the Real keeper sprints out of his penalty area to produce a diving header clearance his centre halves would've been proud of.

Dani Rodriguez gets into the Real Madrid penalty area and crosses into the middle but Aurelien Tchouameni, as a makeshift central defender, is the calmest man in the Bernabeu as he chests the ball inside his own six-yard box and clears.

You can have your say on tonight's action by using #bbceurofooty on X (formerly Twitter).

Within 20 seconds Mallorca's Siebe van der Heyden gets himself a booking, catching Dani Carvajal when the pair were challenging for a header.

The referee indicates an elbow was used by the Mallorca man and he has to watch himself for almost the whole match now.

The roof is closed at the Bernabeu and the visitors get us under way.

It is going to be Aurelien Tchouameni, who normally operates in the heart of midfield, dropping back and moving into the back four to partner Antonio Rudiger in the middle of the Real defence.

Real Madrid have not lost any of their last 18 home games in all competitions (won 15, drawn three) and, should they go unbeaten, would equal their best home run with Carlo Ancelotti in charge (19 between April 2022 and February 2023 - won 14, drawn five).

However, Mallorca are unbeaten in their last five La Liga matches (won two, drawn three), their best run under Javier Aguirre and their best since another five-game run (won three, drawn two) between August and September 2012 under Joaquin Caparros.

Real Madrid are top on goal difference, with Girona in second taking on third-placed Atletico Madrid later on tonight.

Mallorca are down in 14th. We've had one La Liga match already today, with Granada beating Cadiz 2-0.

Image source, .

This might be why Ancelotti isn't looking at defensive reinforcements...

Real Madrid have conceded just 11 goals in their first 18 games in La Liga 2023-24, equalling their lowest tally at this stage of the competition in their entire history (in the 1961-62 and 1971-72 seasons).

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti insisted he will not be in the market for new players in the January transfer window, despite first-choice centre-backs Eder Militao and David Alaba still sidelined.

“We are not planning to sign another centre-back,” said Ancelotti, who has Vinicius Jr, Dani Carvajal and Arda Guler all available tonight after returning from injury.

“We’ve got two important ones out, but we’ve got two more in Nacho and (Antonio) Rudiger. And then we have others options in case of emergencies such as (Eduardo) Camavinga and Carvajal.”

Having hauled in the early domestic leaders, Girona, Ancelotti is confident his side will continue to assert their authority in La Liga with so many big names becoming available.

“We must wait and see what happens this season. We’ve done well so far, the team has changed, it’s changing, and it will change in the future,” he added. “We have a lot of talent that we haven’t been able to put into action yet, like Guler, who is finally getting back to his best.

“We’ll have to wait for the second half of the season. We did well in the first half, even with a lot of problems.”

Image source, Getty Images

Carlo Ancelotti has expressed his wish to remain at Real Madrid beyond his current contract extension after committing to stay with the La Liga leaders until at least 2026.

Ancelotti signed a new two-year deal on Friday, ending speculation linking him with the Brazil national team, and increasing the likelihood that the 64-year-old will be at the Bernabeu for the rest of his career.

The Italian leads his side into tonight's home game against Mallorca sitting back at the top of the table on goal difference from surprise package Girona after two straight wins.

Ancelotti told a news conference: “I’m very happy to have my contract renewed, it was very simple and both sides agreed on it.

“It’s important that the club continues to trust in my work. My contract was up on June 30 and the club decided to do it now because they’re happy with my work.

“I don’t know if it will be my last spell as a coach. I don’t know what will happen once I finish here. I might still be here in 2026, depending on how successful I am.

“I’d like to be Madrid coach until 2026, and hopefully I can continue to be here in 2027 and 2028 because I want to stay here.”

Image source, Real Madrid

England's Jude Bellingham starts for Real Madrid, with Brazilians Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr also featuring.

Vinicius Jr is playing for the first time for Real since 11 November after getting injured on international duty with Brazil when he sustained a hamstring injury during a 2-1 loss to Colombia in a World Cup qualifier.

Midfielder Toni Kroos celebrates his 34th birthday tomorrow.

Real are unbeaten in 17 games in all competitions since a 3-1 loss at Atletico Madrid on 24 September.

Real Madrid XI: Lunin, Carvajal, Rudiger, Garcia, Tchouameni, Valverde, Kroos, Modric, Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr.

Subs: Arrizabalaga, Gonzalez, Joselu, Vazquez, Ceballos, Diaz, Guler, Paz, Carrillo.

Image source, RCD Mallorca on X

Mallorca's side includes defender Matija Nastasic, who was part of Manchester City's Premier League title-winning squad in 2013-14, while Pablo Maffeo also had a spell with City but didn't make a senior appearance for them.

Substitute Omar Mascarell is an ex Real Madrid player and had a loan spell at Derby County in 2014-15.

Mallorca: Rajkovic, Maffeo Van der Heyden, Raillo, Nastasic, Gonzalez, Morlanes, Samuy, Sanchez, Rodriguez, Larin.

Subs: Greif, Cuellar, Lato, Mascarell, Copete, Abdon, Darder, Llabres, Amath, Lopez, Marcos, Luna.

Hello and welcome along to BBC Sport's coverage of the La Liga fixture as Real Madrid entertain Mallorca.

Kick-off for this one is at 18:15 GMT so let's have a look at the teams selected.

Top of La Liga and unbeaten since mid-September, Real Madrid and Jude Bellingham return to action tonight after the Christmas break.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images