Overview
Mallorca is facing great pressure in the relegation race. After 21 rounds, Jagoba Arrasate's team has 5 wins, 6 draws and 10 defeats, winning 21 points to rank 18th in the La Liga standings.
Notably, last season Mallorca finished 10th and was only 4 points behind the European Cup group. But this season, Pirates have clearly declined and are constantly struggling to maintain stability.
Mallorca has lost 3 of the last 4 rounds, most recently the 0-3 defeat to Atletico Madrid. However, they still have a significant home advantage. In their most recent match in their home ground, Mallorca defeated Athletic Bilbao 3-2.
Overall, Arrasate's team has only lost 2/10 home matches this season, winning 16 points - a significantly higher number than Sevilla, who only has 11 points after 10 away matches.
Head-to-head history leans towards Sevilla as Mallorca has only won 16 in their last 67 encounters in all competitions. However, Mallorca has a basis for confidence. They once beat Sevilla 3-1 right at Estadio Ramon at the beginning of the season. Even Sevilla has only won 1 in their last 5 encounters with Mallorca, which was a 2-1 home win in April 2024.
Sevilla also does not have much luck when playing away against Mallorca. Los Nervionenses have not won here since October 2022, while Mallorca has shown considerable tenacity at home this season.
Before this away trip, Sevilla just had a morale boost with a 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao - their first victory in La Liga since mid-December. Coach Matias Almeyda's team currently has 7 wins, 3 draws and 11 losses after 21 matches, winning 24 points to rank 13th, only 3 points above the relegation group.
Sevilla's problem is not in the attack. They have scored 28 goals - not a bad performance - but the defense is a fatal weakness when conceding 33 goals, belonging to the group with the worst defense in the league. In the context that Mallorca is thirsty for points to escape 18th place, this confrontation therefore has the color of a 6-point match.
Personnel situation
Mallorca entered the match with concerns about force when up to 3 key players were uncertain to recover in time, including Antonio Raillo, Marash Kumbulla and Toni Lato. All three will have to undergo late fitness tests before kick-off.
In attack, Mallorca still places their faith in Vedat Muriqi - their leader this season. The Kosovo striker is in impressive form with 14 goals after 20 matches in La Liga and is almost certain to start.
On the other side, Sevilla also cannot avoid losses. Tanguy Nianzou and Ruben Vargas are definitely absent due to injuries, while Adnan Januzaj is still uncertain to play and will be checked for fitness later.
Notably, Sevilla lost two more players due to suspension, Nemanja Gudelj and Marcao. However, they also received positive news when Batista Mendy returned after serving his ban.
Expected lineup:
Roman, Maffeo, Valjent, Lopez, Mojica, Costa, Mascarell, Joseph, Darder, Virgili, Muriqi.
Vlachodimos, Carmona, Castrin, Salas, Sanchez, Agoume, Mendy, Suazo, Fernandez, Romero, Adams.
The match between Mallorca and Sevilla takes place at 3:00 AM on February 3rd (Vietnam time).
