Mallorca vs Athletic Club predictions and match preview for Monday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as the Basque giants head to Palma.
| Date | Monday 1st May 2023 |
| Kick-Off | 19:00 (CEST) |
| Stadium | Son Moix |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Mallorca vs Athletic Club Preview
Athletic Club make the trip to the Balearic Islands this Monday for a game that will have an impact on the race for European places. The Basques are currently 7th, which will be good enough for Conference League football should Real Madrid win the Copa del Rey, however a host of teams are also eyeing up that position, including potentially Mallorca who’d be only 3 points off them with victory here.
Javier Aguirre took the decision to rest key players at the Civitas Metropolitano last week. He’ll be hoping that move gives them a slight edge in terms of freshness here with Vedat Muriqi and Kang-in Lee among those left on the bench in Madrid. Mallorca still took the lead in that game through Matija Nastasić, but ended up on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline.
They’ve made life difficult for all of their visitors to Son Moix this season with Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal among the teams to have fallen to defeat here. No side has won by more than one goal in Palma and that’s testament to the solid defensive structure Javier Aguirre has instilled in this team. With Athletic also quite strong at the back, everything points to quite a low-scoring game here.
The visitors do still have an injury doubt over centre-back Inigo Martinez though and it was an error from Yeray that cost them in Stoppage Time of their Thursday night clash with Sevilla. With the game goalless and having not produced a single shot on target, Yeray misread Unai Simon’s pass to him and then fouled the alert Lucas Ocampos who converted the subsequent penalty to give the Andalusian side the win.
It was a blow to Athletic’s hopes of European qualification, at least in terms of reaching one of the bigger competitions. They’d probably settle for Conference League football given they have been missing from the European stage for a number of years but this won’t be easy for them. While they have won 6 of their away games against sides currently in the bottom seven, they’ve not won on the road against anyone ranked 13th or higher, taking just 3 points from those fixtures so far.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Mallorca
| INJURED | Luna, Giovanni |
| DOUBTFUL | Augustinsson, Nastasic, |
| BANNED |
Possible XI: Rajkovic – Hadzikadunic, Raillo, Valjent – Costa, Galaretta, Morlanes, Maffeo – Dani Rodriguez, Kang-in – Muriqi (3-4-2-1)
Coach: Javier Aguirre
Athletic Club
| INJURED | Muniain, Morcillo |
| DOUBTFUL | Lekue, Inigo Martinez |
| BANNED | Sancet |
Possible XI: Simon – Yuri, Vivian, Yeray, De Marcos – Dani Garcia, Vesga, Zarraga – N. Williams, Guruzeta, I. Williams (4-3-3)
Coach: Ernesto Valverde
Score Prediction: Mallorca 1-0 Athletic Club
This is not likely to be a classic with 60% of Mallorca’s home games this season producing one or fewer goals. A repeat would be no surprise here but Aguirre’s decision to rest Muriqi and Kang-in last time out, may help Mallorca to be the side with a bit more in the final third, particularly with Ernesto Valverde unable to select either Oihan Sancet or Iker Muniain.
PLEASE NOTE – Our LaLiga score predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.
#Mallorca #Athletic #Club #Predictions #Match #Preview