Preview: Mallorca vs. Real Sociedad

Real Sociedad will attempt to end a three-game winless run when they travel to Son Moix for Tuesday’s La Liga meeting with Mallorca.

The Basque side are languishing in 16th position with four points to their name, while the hosts are a point better off in 12th place.

Match preview

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Mallorca will be in a downbeat mood after they conceded a late goal to lose 2-1 in Saturday’s home meeting with Villarreal.

Jagoba Arrasate‘s side looked well set to pick up at least a point after Raul Albiol‘s 57th-minute own goal cancelled out Logan Costa‘s first-half opener.

However, Mallorca’s task increased in difficulty when Toni Lato was shown a straight red card in the 69th minute, and while they did their utmost to hold on to a draw, their resistance was ultimately broken by Ayoze Perez‘s stoppage-time equaliser.

Not only will Arrasate be frustrated with Saturday’s result, but he will be disappointed by the fact that his tenure has started with just one win in five matches, with that solitary victory taking place against newly-promoted Leganes on matchday four.

They are also one of six teams yet to win a home La Liga game this season after drawing home matches against Real Madrid and Sevilla before Saturday’s defeat to Villarreal.

Their hopes of claiming all three points on Tuesday may be tempered by the fact that they have failed to win any of their last five competitive home matches against Real Sociedad since they recorded a 1-0 win in September 2012.

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Real Sociedad have experienced a disappointing start to the campaign, having won one, drawn one and lost three of their opening five league matches.

La Real will be particularly frustrated with the fact that they have lost all three of their home matches this season, including Saturday’s clash against reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid.

Real Sociedad struck the woodwork on three occasions before Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe dispatched their respective penalties as Real Madrid ran out 2-0 winners to condemn Imanol Alguacil‘s side to a third consecutive head-to-head defeat.

Having seen his side muster three goals in five games, Alguacil will know that his team need to improve in the final third if they are to move up the table and challenge for a sixth consecutive top-six finish.

Despite being in poor form, La Real may still fancy their chances of claiming all three points in Tuesday’s fixture after winning eight of their previous nine La Liga meetings with Mallorca, including a league double in the 2023-24 season.

Mallorca La Liga form:

Real Sociedad La Liga form:

Team News

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Mallorca are having to cope without the services of Pablo Maffeo, Mateu Morey and Javier Llabres, while Siebe Van Der Heyden is a doubt after missing the defeat to Villarreal due to a muscle injury.

Left-back Johan Mojica is set to replace Lato, who will serve a one-match suspension following his red card at the weekend.

Summer additions Valery and Robert Navarro are both in contention to make their first starts for the club after featuring as substitutes in Saturday’s loss.

Meanwhile, the visitors remain are unable to call upon Brais Mendez and Arsen Zakharyan, while Hamari Traore is out for an extended period after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury earlier this month.

Mikel Oyarzabal sat out the defeat to Real Madrid due to an ankle injury, but there is a possibility that he could be passed fit for Tuesday’s fixture.

Defender Javi Lopez was forced off against Real Madrid with a hamstring issue, and he will now have to be assessed ahead of the midweek away trip.

With Lopez a doubt, Aihen Munoz is set to come into the side to operate on the left side of a back four which could include Igor Zubeldia, Nayef Aguerd and Jon Aramburu.

Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Greif; Valery, Valjient, Raillo, Mojica; Morlanes, Costa; Larin, Darder, Navarro; Muriqi

We say: Mallorca 1-2 Real Sociedad

Real Sociedad may have experienced an underwhelming start to the season, but they tend to fare well in meetings with Mallorca, and we think that they will draw inspiration from that record to claim their ninth win in 10 head-to-head league matches between the two sides.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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