Rayo Vallecano will be bidding to make it six La Liga matches unbeaten when they head to Mallorca on Sunday afternoon.
A strong start to the 2024-25 campaign has left Rayo in eighth spot in the La Liga table, boasting 13 points from their opening nine matches, while Mallorca are seventh, collecting 14 points from their first nine games.
Match preview
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Mallorca boast a record of four wins, two draws and three defeats from their nine league matches this season, with a total of 14 points leaving them in seventh spot in the table, level on points with sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao.
The Pirates have one of the stronger defensive records in the division this season, having only conceded eight times, but they have only scored nine, with their attacking output proving to be a slight issue early in the campaign.
Jagoba Arrasate's side had a very strong end to September, recording three straight wins over Real Sociedad, Real Betis and Real Valladolid, but they entered the October international break off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Espanyol.
Mallorca now have back-to-back home fixtures against Rayo and Athletic, and it will be fascinating to see what the team can achieve this season, as they have not finished higher than ninth in the top flight since 2011-12.
The Pirates are unbeaten against Rayo in La Liga since November 2021, and they recorded a 2-1 victory in the corresponding fixture last season, which followed a 2-2 draw in the reverse game in Madrid.
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Rayo can also be pleased with their start to the campaign, having picked up 13 points from their opening nine matches to sit in eighth position, one point behind seventh-placed Mallorca.
The capital side have won three, drawn four and lost two of their nine games, scoring 11 times and conceding nine, so they have also been relatively tight defensively, while a return of 11 goals at this stage is fairly impressive.
Los Franjirrojos finished 17th in La Liga last season, so there is clearly room for improvement this term, and Inigo Perez's side will enter this weekend's contest off the back of a five-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
Rayo have beaten Osasuna and Real Valladolid, in addition to drawing with Atletico Madrid, Girona and Leganes, since their last loss to Espanyol at the end of August.
As mentioned, the Madrid outfit have found it difficult in their recent meetings with Mallorca, losing four of their last five games in La Liga, but they have a recent away success over Mallorca to their name, having recorded a 1-0 victory in a Segunda Division clash in September 2020.
Team News
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Mallorca will again definitely be missing Takuma Asano, Siebe Van der Heyden and Javier Llabres through injury, while a late check will need to be made on star forward Vedat Muriqi.
There is believed to be a chance that Muriqi could be back in the squad but start on the bench, with Cyle Larin again set to feature as a lone striker, which could see Dani Rodriguez continue in the number 10 position.
Head coach Arrasate is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack following the defeat to Espanyol, meaning that the likes of Abdon Prats and Manu Morlanes will likely have to accept spots on the bench once again.
As for Rayo, Pep Chavarria and Alfonso Espino are out of the match due to muscular and foot injuries respectively, while Diego Mendez will be missing due to a long-term knee problem.
Jorge de Frutos came up with a brace in the win over Real Valladolid before the international break, and the Spaniard is set to continue in a wide area, with Adri Embarba on the opposite side.
Isi Palazon has been featuring in a front two with Sergio Camello of late, and that is again expected to be the case here, with Sergi Guardiola and James Rodriguez likely to be kept in reserve.
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Greif; Maffeo, Raillo, Copete, Mojica; Navarro, Mascarell, D Rodriguez, Costa, Darder; Larin
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Batalla; Ratiu, Lejeune, Mumin, Balliu; De Frutos, Valentin, U Lopez, Embarba; Palazon, Camello
We say: Mallorca 1-1 Rayo Vallecano
Both sides will be pleased with their starts this season, and this is shaping up to be a very interesting match. It would not be a surprise to see a home or indeed an away victory on Sunday, but we just have a feeling that a tight game will end with the points being shared.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
