Mallorca vs Valencia Predictions & Match Preview

Mallorca vs Valencia predictions and match preview for Saturday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for expert analysis, the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as Los Che travel to the Balearic Islands.

Mallorca vs Valencia Preview

Saturday’s action in LaLiga kicks off in the Balearic Islands where Valencia are in Palma to take on Mallorca. The hosts are hoping to put distance between themselves and the bottom three against a Valencia side that will have one eye on the Copa del Rey Semi-Final 1st Leg this coming week.

There are no such distractions for Mallorca with survival the only real objective for them between now and the end of the campaign. Given their yo-yo nature in recent years, 17th would still have to go down as a real achievement, particularly given they have plenty of young players in this squad who should get better in the upcoming years.

However it’s a couple of slightly more experienced January additions that appear to have made a real difference for them in recent weeks. Sergio Rico has come immediately into the side in goal and is an upgrade on their previous options. Meanwhile Vedat Muriqi has given them real presence up front, as well as an increased goal threat. The Kosovo international has either scored or created a goal in all of his league starts for Mallorca so far with two of those games ending in badly needed wins.

Mallorca will fancy their chances of three more points here. Valencia are in the midst of a really bad run of form in LaLiga with just 2 points from their last 7 games. The fixture list has not been particularly kind to them over that period in fairness with games against all of last season’s top five but they’ve been well beaten in some games including a 4-1 home loss against Barcelona last time out.

It’s hard to see Valencia pushing for European qualification via the league now and they’d only actually be a point above their opponents were they to lose this match. As such, the Copa del Rey becomes a huge focus and Pepe Bordalas may very well decide to rest key players here with Athletic visiting Mestalla for the 2nd Leg of their Semi-Final this coming week. He may also use the game to give the influential Gabriel Paulista some minutes on his return from injury.

Head to Head

• Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 2 Mallorca Wins, 2 Valencia Wins, 2 Draws.
• The sides drew 2-2 in a dramatic game at Mestalla earlier this term.
• Mallorca have won 4 of their last 6 home games against Valencia.
• They were 4-1 winners in the most recent meeting here in 2020.

Team News

Iddrisu Baba and Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta are out for the hosts.

Toni Lato is suspended for Valencia. Jasper Cillessen is still out while Jose Gaya and Gabriel Paulista may not be risked from the start on their returns from injury, if they feature at all.

Possible Lineups

Mallorca vs Valencia Predictions

Score Prediction: Mallorca 2-1 Valencia

You sense Mallorca might have the greater drive here, with Valencia looking ahead to the cup game in midweek. Some smart recruitment in January may just have helped keep Luis Garcia in a job after a severe decline around the turn of the year and if Muriqi keeps playing like this, it won’t be long before they are well clear of trouble. A home win looks likely.

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