Almeria vs Mallorca predictions and match preview for Saturday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as the hosts target a much needed win in their fight for survival.
| Date | Saturday 20th May 2023 |
| Kick-Off | 18:30 (CEST) |
| Stadium | Power Horse |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Almeria vs Mallorca Preview
It’s another really big game at the Power Horse Stadium this weekend as Almeria target a much needed three points. Their opponents Mallorca should now be safe after a win last weekend pushed them onto 44 points.
Almeria are 8 further back and may feel like they need to win 2 of their final 4 games to stay afloat. Home games against Mallorca and Real Valladolid offer them the best chance of doing that and they’d love to chalk up 2 wins before their final day trip to Espanyol which could potentially be a straight shootout for survival if they don’t deliver in those home games.
Overall, Almeria are doing what they’ve done most of the season which is play some good football and score goals, but also look shaky at the back. All of their last 10 matches have seen both teams score and it is impressive how they’ve managed to maintain a serious goal threat despite losing key striker El Bilal Toure to a season ending injury. Luis Suarez has filled that void pretty well and will be their main dangerman in the penalty area here.
Much may depend on Mallorca’s mindset and how desperate they are to end the season strongly having essentially achieved their season goal of survival last time out with a 1-0 home win against Cadiz. We do often see teams tail off in such circumstances in LaLiga, although an outside shot of a top half finish may help provide some motivation.
Like Almeria, they’ve not been great travellers this season, frequently struggling to replicate their strong home performances. They have managed to score at least once in each of their last four away games though which represents an improvement. They’ll be bracing themselves for a summer where there may well be interest in Vedat Muriqi and Kang-in Lee, their two most dangerous attacking players in a season where they’ve struggled for goals overall.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Almeria
| INJURED | Toure, Kaiky, Svidersky |
| DOUBTFUL | Chumi |
| BANNED |
Possible XI: Fernando – Centelles, Ely, Babic, Pozo – Robertone, Melero, De La Hoz – Baptistao, Luis Suarez, Embarba (4-3-3)
Coach: Rubi
Mallorca
| INJURED | Nastasic |
| DOUBTFUL | Augustinsson |
| BANNED |
Possible XI: Rajkovic – Copete, Raillo, Valjent – Costa, Galaretta, Morlanes, Maffeo – Amath, Kang-in – Muriqi (3-4-2-1)
Coach: Javier Aguirre
Score Prediction: Almeria 2-1 Mallorca
This feels like a pretty good fixture for Almeria to have at this point. Mallorca are safe and aren’t great on the road at the best of times, so you’d expect a highly motivated home team to be the side with the greater urgency and intensity from the first whistle. Rubi’s men may claim an important three points.
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Mark Sochon is an experienced football writer and has been the editor of LaLigaExpert.com since 2018. Based in Madrid, he has been covering La Liga and Spanish football for more than a decade. Aside from writing most of the content here, he also covers La Liga and European competitions for Goal and Betfred, while his work has previously been published by the likes of the Guardian and World Soccer.
During his time in Spain, he has travelled up and down the country, attending matches in virtually every top-flight stadium. His areas of expertise include data-led match predictions and probability analysis, as well as Spanish football team news, with La Liga predicted lineups researched and published each week. | Follow Mark Sochon on X