A game full of history

D. Alavés and RCD Mallorca will play in matchday 29 of Liga Adelante at the Mendizorroza. Both sides are sitting in mid-table, albeit the Balearic Island side are slightly better off in 10th with 37 points, compared to the Vitoria side's 32 points, which sees them sit in 15th.

Mallorca are in good form, having notched up three consecutive victories, the last of which was a classic against R. Zaragoza (3-2). Whereas the Basque side have lost their last two, however at home they are a safe bet, having taken seven of the last nine points available at Mendizorroza, scoring seven, conceding only one goal.

The Liga Adelante tie was once a clash of the titans. Both sides played in the final of European competitions, although neither won the title, and Alavés and Mallorca are two historic sides who are always up for the big games.

Mallorca got to the final of the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1999. The Balearic Island outfit, who were coached by Héctor Cúper, played the final against SS Lazio at Villa Park. The Italian side took the lead through a former Liga BBVA star, Christian Vieri after seven minutes. The Spaniards equalised five minutes later through Dani García Lara, however towards the end Pavel Nedved made it 2-1 to seal the victory for the Rome-based club.

Two years later it was Alavés' turn. They got to the UEFA Cup final, where they took on one of Europe's heavyweights in Liverpool FC at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund. The English side went ahead early on through Markus Babbel and Steven Gerrard doubled their lead.

Iván Alonso cut the deficit, however a Gary McAllister penalty meant it was 3-1 at the break. Javi Moreno's spectacular start to the second half evened things up, but Robbie Fowler once again put Liverpool ahead. With two minutes on the clock, Jordi Cruyff forced extra time, however after seeing two men sent off, they eventually lost thank to Geli own goal in minute 118.

Both finals will always form part of the history of the two sides, but the present is all that matters at the moment, and it is a crucial tie that will help them on their road to recovery as they look to work their way back into Liga BBVA.