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Mallorca vs Villarreal predictions and match preview for Saturday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as Mallorca target a 5th straight home win.
| Date | Saturday 18th February 2023 |
| Kick-Off | 18:30 (CET) |
| Stadium | Visit Mallorca Stadium |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Mallorca vs Villarreal Preview
Mallorca play host to Villarreal this weekend in LaLiga. It’s a really important game for the visitors who are in the midst of a bad run once more with pressure building on Quique Setien again.
This is a really tough game to have in the circumstances. Mallorca has been a tough place for visiting teams to go this season and they rarely give up many chances in front of their own fans. Indeed they’ve won each of their last four home games by 1-0 margins, an outstanding record when you consider that run features fixtures against both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
That’s a measure of the task facing Villarreal here but the visitors will also know that if they could nick the first goal, that would be a huge step towards getting a positive result. Javier Aguirre’s side are yet to score more than once at home in LaLiga in 2022/23. In fact the last time Mallorca managed to do that in the league was in the reverse fixture against Villarreal which they won 2-0 back in November.
Some Villarreal followers were calling for Quique Setien to go already on that occasion and while results did initially pick up following the World Cup break, they are yet to be fully convinced. Villarreal come into this game on the back of three straight league losses and a fourth here would already feel like a killer blow to their hopes of Champions League qualification.
The financial gulf between the UCL and the other European competitions is so significant that missing out on a top four place would have significant repercussions in terms of what Villarreal can do this summer. In Setien’s defence, Villarreal have only finished in the top four in 1 of the last 11 seasons in LaLiga, but there was genuine optimism that they could make it this season with Sevilla’s plummet down the table opening up an opportunity for the Yellow Submarine.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Mallorca
Possible XI: Rajkovic – Nastacic, Valjent, Raillo – Costa, Baba, Ruiz de Galarreta, Maffeo – Dani Rodriguez, Kang-in – Muriqi (3-4-2-1)
Coach: Javier Aguirre
Villarreal
| INJURED | Coquelin, Lo Celso, Jackson |
| DOUBTFUL | Gerard Moreno, Baena |
| BANNED | Alberto Moreno |
Possible XI: Reina – Mojica, Torres, Albiol, Foyth – Capoue, Parejo, Baena – Yeremi, Morales, Chukwueze (4-3-3)
Coach: Quique Setien
Score Prediction: Mallorca 1-0 Villarreal
This is precisely the kind of match where Quique Setien teams often struggle with Mallorca happy to let their opponents dominate possession and resort to a more physical approach if necessary. Gerard Moreno’s likely absence is another major problem for the visitors and it wouldn’t be a surprise if we saw yet another 1-0 win for Mallorca.
PLEASE NOTE – Our La Liga previews and 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.
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