Elche will be bidding to record just their second La Liga victory of the season when they make the trip to Mallorca on Saturday evening.
The visitors are currently rock bottom of the table, 15 points from the safety of 17th position, while Mallorca sit 10th, eight points clear of the relegation zone heading into the next set of fixtures.
Match preview
© Reuters
Mallorca have won nine, drawn four and lost 10 of their 23 league matches this season to collect 31 points, which has left them in 10th position in the table, eight points clear of the bottom three.
Javier Aguirre's side have actually won each of their last five home league games, which is a run that has included victories over Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Villarreal.
Mallorca's away form has been disappointing, though, losing seven of their 12 games on their travels, which might prevent them from claiming a top-half position this term.
The Pirates will enter this contest off the back of a 2-1 defeat at Espanyol, with Martin Braithwaite scoring a double for the home side at RCDE Stadium.
Mallorca, who are bidding to make it back-to-back seasons at this level for the first time since 2013, have not actually beaten Elche since May 2017, although four of the last five meetings between the two sides have finished level, including a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture earlier this term.
© Reuters
Elche recorded their first league win of the season against Villarreal at the start of February, but they were unable to build on the result, losing their last three against Real Madrid, Espanyol and Real Betis.
Last time out, Pablo Machin's side were involved in a five-goal thriller with Real Betis; the league's basement side, who finished with nine men, actually led by two goals inside the opening nine minutes, but the visitors were level in the 68th minute, before Willian Jose struck a 95th-minute winner from the penalty spot.
The result left Los Franjiverdes rooted to the bottom of the table, having picked up just nine points from their opening 23 matches of the campaign.
The strugglers are 15 points behind 17th-placed Real Valladolid, so it is going to take a monumental effort to escape the relegation zone, and it is difficult to imagine where the points are coming from, especially as they have scored just 17 times in their 23 league games this term.
Elche are in their third straight season in La Liga, which is actually their best run at this level since the late 1970s, but it does appear that they are destined to drop back into the Segunda Division.
Team News
© Reuters
Mallorca have no injury concerns heading into this contest, but there could be a change at the back following the defeat to Espanyol last time out, with Giovanni Gonzalez potentially coming into the XI.
There is also likely to be a slight change of formation, with Tino Kadewere set to move into a wide position rather than operating down the middle alongside Vedat Muriqi.
Lee Kang-in will feature on the right for Mallorca, while Dani Rodriguez and Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta are set to retain their positions in the middle of midfield.
As for Elche, Enzo Roco and Lisandro Magallan both received red cards against Real Betis last time out, which will rule them out of this weekend's match through suspension.
Pape Cheikh was also sent off despite not being on the field, so the midfielder will also be banned, while Pere Milla, Alex Collado, John Donald and Jony Alamo are out through injury.
There is some good news for the visitors, though, with Jose Angel Carmona available following a suspension, and he is expected to come straight back into the side for this match.
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Maffeo, Gonzalez, Raillo, Nastasic, J Costa; Kadewere, Ruiz de Galarreta, D Rodriguez, Kang-in; Muriqi
Elche possible starting lineup:
Badia; Palacios, Gonzalez, Bigas; Carmona, Mascarell, Gumbau, Clerc; Ponce, Boye, Fidal
We say: Mallorca 2-0 Elche
Mallorca's home form has been excellent in recent months, recording five straight victories, keeping clean sheets in four of those matches. Elche, on the other hand, have the worst away record in the league this season, so we are fully expecting Mallorca to secure all three points here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
