Buzz previews Friday’s La Liga clash between Alaves and Mallorca, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Alaves will be bidding to end a five-game losing run in La Liga when they host Mallorca on Friday night.
The home side are currently 16th in the La Liga tableboasting only 10 points from their first 11 matches of the 2024-25 campaign, while Mallorca are seventh, having picked up 18 points from their first 11 games.
Match preview
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Alaves will enter this match off the back of a victory, having beaten Compostela 1-0 in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night, with an own goal from Kike Vidal in the 12th minute deciding the contest.
It was far from a convincing performance from Luis Garcia‘s side against their fourth-tier opponents, though, and their attention will now switch back to La Liga, with the Basque outfit bidding to end a five-game losing run in Spain’s top flight.
The Blue and Whites have not been victorious in La Liga since September 20, losing to Real Madrid, Getafe, Barcelona, Real Valladolid and Rayo Vallecano in their last five, which has left them in 16th spot in the table on 10 points.
Alaves are only one point ahead of 18th-placed Las Palmas, while they have conceded 19 times in the league this season, which is the joint-third worst defensive record in the division alongside Villarreal, Las Palmas and Espanyol.
The Basque side have not managed to overcome Mallorca in La Liga since September 2019, but both games between the two sides during the 2023-24 campaign finished all square, including a 1-1 draw in the corresponding fixture.
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As for Mallorca, a record of five wins, three draws and three defeats from 11 matches has brought them 18 points, which is enough for seventh spot in the table ahead of the next set of fixtures in Spain’s top flight.
Jagoba Arrasate‘s side are only three points behind third-placed Villarreal, while they have been one of the strongest defensive sides in the division this term, conceding just eight times, with only Atletico Madrid (seven) letting in fewer.
The Pirates finished a disappointing 15th last season, but the team certainly look capable of claiming a top-10 spot this term, while a push for Europe cannot be ruled out if they can start to find the back of the net on a consistent basis.
Mallorca suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat to Espanyol at the start of October, but they have picked up four points from their last two matches, beating Rayo Vallecano 1-0 before drawing 0-0 with Athletic Bilbao last time out.
Arrasate’s team have been victorious in three of their last four away games in Spain’s top flight, meanwhile, and they will be the favourites heading into Friday’s contest with an out-of-form Alaves outfit.
Alaves La Liga form:
Alaves form (all competitions):
Mallorca La Liga form:
Team News
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Alaves will again be without the services of Hugo Novoa on Friday through injury, but Aleksandar Sedlar was back on the bench in the Copa del Rey last time out.
There will be changes to the side that started against Compostela, with Tony Martinez, Carlos Martin, Jon Guridi, Manuel Sanchez among those set to come back into the XI.
Antonio Sivera will also be back between the sticks, but Female Garcia might have to again accept a spot on the bench, with Martinez expected to be given the nod through the middle here.
As for Mallorca, Ivan Cuellar and Takuma Asano will miss the match through injury, while Samu Costa is suspended due to the red card that he was handed against Athletic last time out.
Cyle Larin is also a major doubt, having been forced off in the first half against Athletic, so it is possible that Abdon Prats could be introduced in the final third of the field here.
Omar Mascarell is expected to be the player to benefit from Costa’s absence, while Robert Navarro and Sergi Darder should retain their spots in the wide positions for the clash with Alaves.
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Sivera; Tenaglia, Mourino, Diarra, Sanchez; Vicente, Guridi, Guevara, Jordan, Martin; Martinez
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Count; Maffeo, Valgent, Raillo, Mojica; Navarro, Morlanes, Mascarell, Darder; Muriqi, Prats
We say: Alaves 0-1 Mallorca
Mallorca have not exactly been free-scoring this season, but they are very strong defensively, and we are expecting the visitors to claim all three points on Friday courtesy of a narrow win, and a victory would move them into fourth spot in the table.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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