Mallorca will be bidding to give their top-six hopes in La Liga a boost when they continue their campaign with a home fixture against relegation-threatened Alaves on Sunday night.
Los Piratas have picked up 35 points from their opening 25 matches of the season to sit in eighth spot in the La Liga table, level on points with sixth-placed Rayo Vallecano, while Alaves are 19th, one point behind 17th-placed Las Palmas.
Match preview
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Mallorca have a record of 10 wins, five draws and 10 defeats from their 25 league matches this season, with a total of 35 points leaving them in eighth, level on points with sixth-placed Rayo Vallecano.
Jagoba Arrasate's side are firmly in the mix for a European spot at this crucial stage of the season, but they are only actually five points ahead of 14th-placed Getafe, so their situation could change quickly.
Mallorca have collected 19 points from their 13 home league matches this season, and they will be welcoming an Alaves outfit with only nine points to show from their 13 away league games during the 2024-25 campaign.
The Pirates suffered a 1-0 defeat to Alaves in the reverse match earlier this season, but it was 0-0 when the two sides locked horns for the corresponding game during the 2023-24 campaign.
Mallorca have finished 16th, ninth and 15th in their last three La Liga campaigns, and they have not been in the top six since claiming fifth in 2009-10, so there is plenty on the line in the latter stages of the season.
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Alaves, meanwhile, finished 10th in Spain's top flight last season, but they have struggled to show that level during the current campaign, with the Basque outfit down in 19th spot in the table.
Eduardo Coudet's side suffered a 1-0 defeat to Espanyol last time out, which stretched their winless run in Spain's top flight to five matches, suffering three defeats during that timeframe.
Alaves have actually only won once in La Liga since the start of November, but it is not time to hit the panic button, with the team only one point behind 17th-placed Las Palmas in the battle to remain in the division.
El Glorioso have been beaten in three of their last four league matches, and they have only managed two away league victories during the 2024-25 campaign, suffering eight defeats in the process.
Alaves have actually only played outside of the top flight for one season since 2016, so it would be somewhat of a surprise to see them relegated this term, but they are certainly one of the teams in danger of dropping into the Segunda Division.
Team News
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Mallorca could again be without the services of Samu Costa and Manu Morlanes due to injury problems, while Johan Mojica is suspended due to the yellow card that he picked up against Sevilla last time out.
Mateu Morey could be the player to benefit from Mojica's absence, with the Spaniard potentially starting as the left-sided wing-back, while Omar Mascarell will again feature in central midfield.
Vedat Muriqi is set to lead the line for Mallorca, with Dani Rodriguez and Takuma Asano in line to continue in the wide areas.
As for Alaves, Tomas Conechny, Hugo Novoa, Jesus Owono and Carlos Benavidez are again set to miss out through injury.
The visitors do not have any fresh concerns from their clash with Espanyol, but there could be a couple of changes, with Manu Sanchez and Ander Guevara in line to come into the starting side.
Kike Garcia has been in strong form for Alaves this season, scoring 10 times in Spain's top flight, and there will once again be a spot in the final third of the field for the 35-year-old.
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Greif; Maffeo, Valjent, Raillo, Copete, Morey; Asano, Mascarell, Darder, D Rodriguez; Muriqi
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Sivera; Tenaglia, Abqar, Mourino, Sanchez; Vicente, Guevara, Jordan, Alena; Martinez, Kike Garcia
We say: Mallorca 2-1 Alaves
Mallorca have won five, drawn four and lost four of their 13 home league fixtures this season, and these are the type of matches that they will need to win in order to be serious challengers for the top six; Alaves are capable of making this a tricky game, but we are expecting Mallorca to secure all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
