Mallorca will be aiming to bounce back from a heavy defeat to Barcelona when they continue their La Liga campaign with a clash against Celta Vigo at the Estadio Municipal de Balaidos on Friday night.
The visitors were on the end of a 5-1 thumping by Barcelona on Tuesday, while Celta will enter this match off the back of a 7-0 victory over Salamanca UDS in the second round of the Copa del Rey.
Match preview
© Imago
Celta suffered a 3-1 defeat to Espanyol in the league last weekend, but they bounced back impressively in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday, putting seven unanswered goals past Salmananca UDS to advance into the third round of the competition.
The Vigo outfit boast a record of five wins, three draws and seven defeats from their 15 league matches this season, which has left them in 12th spot in the La Liga table on 18 points, six points behind sixth-placed Mallorca.
Claudio Giraldez's side have been strong at home this season, picking up 14 points from their eight matches courtesy of four wins and two draws, but they will be welcoming a Mallorca side that have won four of their seven games on their travels in 2024-25.
Celta finished 13th in La Liga last season, and they will be expecting to improve on that position this term, but conceding goals has been an issue, shipping 27 in their 15 games, which is the joint-second worst defensive record in the division.
It has been a different story down the other end of the field, with the Sky Blues finding the back of the net on 23 occasions, with only four teams - Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, Real Madrid and Barcelona - managing more in La Liga this season.
© Imago
Mallorca were stunned by Barcelona on Tuesday, conceding five times on home soil, with four of the Catalan outfit's goals coming in the second period after the two teams went into the half-time break at 1-1.
Jagoba Arrasate's side can be pleased with their overall performance level this season, though, having won seven, drawn three and lost six of their 16 matches to collect 24 points, which has left them in sixth spot in the table.
The Pirates are only two points behind fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao and could find themselves in the mix for a surprise European finish this term, but they will need to address their issue when it comes to scoring goals.
Indeed, Mallorca, who were 15th in Spain's top flight last term, have only netted 16 times in their 16 league matches this season, but they have largely been defensively solid despite conceding five against Barcelona.
Mallorca are unbeaten in their last four La Liga games against Celta, including a 1-0 victory in the corresponding match during the 2023-24 campaign, but their last meeting, which came in Vigo earlier this year, finished 1-1.
Team News
© Imago
Celta will be without the services of two players on Friday through injury, with Jailson and Luca de la Torre unavailable for selection, but Joseph Aidoo made his return in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night.
There will be wholesale changes to the side that started the cup fixture, with the likes of Oscar Mingueza, Vicente Guaita and Iago Aspas set to come back into the XI for the La Liga affair.
Aspas has been in strong form for Celta this season, scoring five goals and registering three assists in 14 appearances, and the 37-year-old is set for another start on Friday night.
As for Mallorca, Copete, Toni Lato and Ivan Cuellar remain sidelined, but the visitors did not pick up any fresh problems in their heavy home defeat to Barcelona last time out.
Head coach Arrasate will resist the temptation to make wholesale changes, but Dominik Greif is set to return between the sticks, while Mateu Morey and Cyle Larin are also expected to come into the side.
A 4-4-2 formation should include Antonio Sanchez and Sergi Darder in the wide areas, with Pablo Maffeo and Valery likely to be the two outfield players to drop out of the side for this contest.
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Guaita; J Rodriguez, Starfelt, Alonso; Bamba, Mingueza, Moriba, Alvarez; Aspas, Douvikas, Swedberg
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Greif; Morey, Valjent, Raillo, Mojica; A Sanchez, Morlanes, Costa, Darder; Larin, Muriqi
We say: Celta Vigo 1-1 Mallorca
Mallorca have not actually drawn away from home in La Liga this season, but we are predicting a stalemate here. Celta have been strong in front of their own fans this term, but Mallorca will be determined to bounce back from their poor performance against Barcelona, and we are expecting the visitors to be good enough for a point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
