Rayo Vallecano will be aiming to make it six games unbeaten in La Liga when they travel to take on Mallorca on Sunday afternoon.
Rayo has been pretty decent this season, with the team currently sitting eighth in the La Liga table with 13 points from nine matches. At the same time, their hosts, Mallorca, lie seventh with 14 points from the same amount of games, and this should be a very interesting mid-table clash.
Match Preview:
Under the head coach, Jagoba Arrasate, Mallorca has gathered four wins, two draws, and three losses from its nine league matches so far, consequently setting it level on points with sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao. Its defense has been a strong point, conceding just eight goals this season, while their attack, on the other hand, has struggled to manipulate only nine goals.
Despite the low-scoring output, Mallorca has shown some resilience. They ended September with three wins on the bounce as they beat Real Sociedad, Real Betis, and Real Valladolid. However, they went into the international break at the back of a 2-1 loss to Espanyol.
This means Mallorca have two crucial home matches now: first, Rayo; then comes the match against Athletic Bilbao. The Pirates are unbeaten versus Rayo in La Liga since November 2021 and won 2-1 in this fixture last season after a draw of 2-2 in Madrid.
Outlook Rayo Vallecano:
Iñigo Pérez’ Rayo Vallecano has also made a promising start to the campaign, accumulating 13 points from their opening nine matches, one behind Mallorca. They have recorded three wins, four draws, and two losses with a record of 11 goals scored and nine conceded, indicating that they are somewhat equilibrated between attack and defense.
After finishing 17th last season, there’s definitely room for improvement, and Pérez’s side will go into this weekend’s contest confident, now five games unbeaten in all competitions. Rayo’s recent form has included victories over Osasuna and Real Valladolid as well as draws against Atletico Madrid, Girona, and Leganes since the last defeat came at the hands of Espanyol in late August.
Historically, Rayo have struggled against the islanders, losing four of the last five league meetings, but they do have an away win over Mallorca, a 1-0 triumph in the Segunda Division way back in September 2020.
Form Guide
Mallorca La Liga form: WLWWWL
Rayo Vallecano La Liga form: LWDDDW
Team News:
An injury to Takuma Asano, Siebe Van der Heyden, and Javier Llabres will see all three miss out for Mallorca. Star striker Vedat Muriqi faces a late fitness test but may be restricted to a place on the bench, with Cyle Larin expected to continue as the lone striker. Dani Rodriguez played behind Larin in an attacking midfield role in that defeat and should continue in that position here. Defeat to Espanyol last weekend should not see too many changes to Arrasate’s starting lineup.
Muscular and foot problems respectively mean Pep Chavarria and Alfonso Espino aren’t available for Rayo, while Diego Mendez also remains out with a long-term knee complaint. Having netted a double in their win over Real Valladolid before the inter-break, Jorge de Frutos is likely to keep his spot out wide, with Adri Embarba on the opposing side. Isi Palazon and Sergio Camello start the attack, while Sergi Guardiola and James Rodriguez are most probably coming on from the bench.
Predicted Lineups:
Mallorca (4-2-3-1): Greif; Maffeo, Raillo, Copete, Mojica; Navarro, Mascarell, D Rodriguez, Costa, Darder; Larin
Rayo Vallecano (4-4-2): Batalla; Ratiu, Lejeune, Mumin, Balliu; De Frutos, Valentin, U Lopez, Embarba; Palazon, Camello
This promises to be a closely contested fixture between the two teams looking to cement their place in the top half of the table.
