Overview
Under the reign of new coach Jagoba Arrasate, Mallorca is having a strong start in La Liga season 2024-2025.
After 10 rounds, they accumulated 17 points, an achievement only behind big teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Villarreal or Atletico Madrid.
Mallorca's success has been built on a solid defence. They have conceded just eight goals so far this season, the second-best tally in La Liga, level with Getafe and only six goals behind Atletico Madrid.
As for Athletic Bilbao, they also have the same record of 17 points after 10 matches as Mallorca. If Mallorca has a solid defense, Atheltic Bilbao has a strong attack. With 17 goals, they have the fifth best scoring record in the tournament.
In terms of personnel quality, Athletic Bilbao is considered to be slightly better than Mallorca. However, the Basque team just had a Europa League match in the middle of the week, so they will be a bit disadvantaged in terms of physical strength.
With both teams sitting in mid-table, they will be looking for a win to close in on the European places.
Four of the last five matches between Mallorca and Athletic Bilbao have ended in draws. In the Copa del Rey final at the end of last season, the two teams needed to go to penalties to find the champion.
Clashes between Mallorca and Athletic Bilbao rarely produce many goals. Only 1 of the last 5 matches between these two clubs has produced more than 2 goals.
Human resources situation
Mallorca will be without Ivan Cuellar and Takuma Asano through injury, both of whom have been sidelined for a long time. They are likely to stick with the same line-up that beat Rayo Vallecano last week.
On the other side of the front line, goalkeeper Unai Simon is absent due to a wrist injury. However, Aitor Paredes could return.
Expected lineup:
Mallorca: Greif, Maffeo, Valjent, Raillo, Mojica, Navarro, Morlanes, Costa, Darder, Muriqi, Larin.
Athletic Bilbao: Agirrezabala, De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Yuri, Ruiz de Galarreta, Jauregizar, I. Williams, Berenguer, N. Williams, Guruzeta.
The match between Mallorca and Athletic Bilbao takes place at 3:00 a.m. on October 29 (Vietnam time).
