Preview: Mallorca vs. Celta Vigo - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors will enter the match off the back of a 1-1 draw with Villarreal in the league, while Mallorca suffered a 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night.

Match preview

Mallorca started 2023 in impressive fashion, beating Pontevedra 2-0 in the Copa del Rey before recording a 1-0 victory over Real Valladolid in La Liga, but they have now lost their last two matches.

Indeed, Javier Aguirre's side suffered a 1-0 defeat to Osasuna in the league last weekend before being eliminated in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night courtesy of a 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad.

Mallorca now only have the league to focus on this season, and it has been a solid campaign thus far, picking up 22 points from their 17 matches to sit 10th in the table.

The Pirates have won six, drawn four and lost seven of their 17 league games this term, while they are actually one of the lowest scorers in the league, finding the back of the net on just 14 occasions.

Mallorca's success this season has been built on a strong defensive record, with only Barcelona (six), Real Betis (13) and Villarreal (13) conceding fewer times than Aguirre's team (16).

Los Bermellones suffered a 4-3 defeat when they last faced Celta in March 2022, but the points were shared in a goalless draw when the two sides locked horns for the corresponding match last term.

Celta have found it difficult in the first half of the 2022-23 campaign, with a total of 17 points from 17 matches leaving them in 16th position in the table, just one point outside of the relegation zone.

However, the Sky Blues will enter this match in good confidence, having gone unbeaten in their last four league fixtures, including a 1-1 draw with high-flying Villarreal last time out.

Celta have also beaten Elche and drawn with both Rayo Vallecano and Sevilla since their last defeat, and like Mallorca, they only have the league to focus on, having been knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Espanyol in the early stages of the month.

Carlos Carvalhal's side have only picked up seven points from their eight away league games this term, but Mallorca have dropped points in five of their eight La Liga fixtures in front of their own supporters.

Celta have finished eighth and 11th in their last two campaigns at this level, and they have not played outside of Spain's top flight since 2012, so it would be a surprise to see them relegated from this term.

Mallorca La Liga form:

D

W

W

L

W

L

Mallorca form (all competitions):

W

L

W

W

L

L

Celta Vigo La Liga form:

L

L

D

D

W

D

Celta Vigo form (all competitions):

D

W

D

L

W

D

Team News

Mallorca will be without the services of Lee Kang-in for this match, as the attacker is suspended following his yellow card in the 1-0 loss to Osasuna in the league last time out.

As mentioned, Aguirre's side were in Copa del Rey action against Real Sociedad on Tuesday, and there will be wholesale changes to the team that started that particular fixture.

Dani Rodriguez, Jaume Costa, Pablo Maffeo, Clement Grenier and Vedat Muriqi will all be back in the XI, while there could also be a spot for Abdon Prats due to the absence of Kang-in.

As for Celta, head coach Carvalhal could have a full squad available for this contest, with the team not reporting any injury concerns at this stage of proceedings.

The starting side is expected to be similar to the one that took to the field for the first whistle against Villarreal.

However, Jorgen Strand Larsen scored off the bench against the Yellow Submarine, and he is now likely to feature in the first XI on Friday night.

Goncalo Paciencia is also an option, should Carvalhal consider a change of formation, but Iago Aspas, who has eight league goals this season, is again a certain starter in the final third of the field.

Mallorca possible starting lineup:

Rajkovic; Maffeo, Valjent, Raillo, Copete, Costa; D Rodriguez, Baba, Grenier, Prats; Muriqi

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Machesin; Mingueza, Aidoo, U Nunez; Mallo, Beltran, Rodriguez, Galan; Larsen, Aspas, Cervi

We say: Mallorca 0-0 Celta Vigo

Celta have been the draw specialists in recent weeks, sharing the points in three of their last four league matches, and we can see another stalemate here. Mallorca have both scored and conceded just six times at home in the league this season, so a low-scoring affair can be expected on Friday night.

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