Mallorca aim to continue their bright start to the 2024-25 La Liga campaign by hosting Athletic Bilbao on Monday night in what promises to be an exciting fixture. Indeed, the two teams have closely matched each other through this term as they head into the gameweek sitting at 17 points apiece after 10 games with Mallorca in sixth place and Athletic Bilbao just one spot higher in fifth.
Match Preview:
With the new head coach Jagoba Arrasate, the club is having a great start to the season. Arrasate took over in summer from Osasuna and led the team to five victories, two draws, and three defeats from their first 10 league matches, making them one of the best defenders so far this term with just eight goals let in. Only Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have managed to do better in defense at this stage.
In their last La Liga encounter, Vedat Muriqi’s 76th-minute goal helped Mallorca edge past Rayo Vallecano 1-0. Winners of four of their last five league games, the team wants more after finishing 15th last season and are now looking like serious contenders for a European spot in La Liga this season.
Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic Bilbao come into the game with an identical record to that of Mallorca – five wins, two draws, and three losses. The Lions have been pretty effective going forward, having scored 17 goals this season, only bettered by Villarreal, Real Madrid, and Barcelona. They have leaked 11 goals this season, meaning there is plenty of room for improvement if they are to pose a serious threat for a top-four finish.
Following a 1-0 win over Slavia Prague in the Europa League and another 4-1 La Liga success against Espanyol, Bilbao search for a third win in a row. While the Lions thrashed Mallorca 4-0 the last time both teams met in February, their last visit to Mallorca was a goalless draw in the 2023-24 season.
Mallorca La Liga Form: LWWWLW
Athletic Bilbao La Liga Form: WWWDLW
Athletic Bilbao All Competitions Form: DDWLWW
Team News:
Cuellar and Takuma Asano, meanwhile, have been ruled out through injury once again. There are no fresh injury worries, however, so head coach Arrasate could name the same side which proved successful in his first game in charge. That would mean Muriqi starts up front alongside Cyle Larin, with support from the flanks via Robert Navarro and Sergi Darder. Samu Costa is in line to anchor midfield.
Unai Simon remains absent for Athletic Bilbao as he works his way back from surgery on a wrist injury, while Aitor Paredes was suspended for the win over Espanyol and thus is clear to feature here. Midfielder Oihan Sancet returned from injury off the bench in the recent Europa League defeat to Standard Liege, and could feature here. Otherwise, Valverde has a full-strength squad and will go with Nico Williams and Inaki Williams from the start in attacking positions, with Gorka Guruzeta and Alex Berenguer also supporting.
Predicted lineups
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
This is expected to be a tough encounter, with both Mallorca and Athletic Bilbao seeking to keep their upward trajectory and move clear of any mid-table fringe in the chase for a European place.
