David Flower
Dailysports's expert
Mallorca
Real Valladolid
The Matchday 35 clash in the Spanish championship will take place on Saturday at the Son Moix stadium, where local side Mallorca will host Valladolid. I suggest betting on goals in this matchup, as it offers a promising chance for a winning outcome.
Match preview
Jagoba Arrasate's men failed to capitalize on their chance to secure a spot in the European zone, despite playing last in the round and being fully aware of their standings. On the road against Girona, the islanders suffered a narrow defeat (0-1). This result extended their goalless streak to three matches: previously, the team lost to Barcelona (0-1) and drew with Leganés (0-0).
Following this setback, the club dropped to 10th place, although by tiebreakers they still have an equal shot at breaking into the top eight. The team has struggled for consistency in La Liga: over their last ten matches, the islanders have managed just two wins, with four losses and four draws. These numbers highlight an instability that's preventing the club from mounting a serious challenge for a spot in the upper reaches of the table.
Valladolid, despite having no motivation left in the league, put up a decent fight against the league leaders, narrowly losing at home to Barcelona (1-2). However, that match only extended Valladolid's winless streak in La Liga to eight straight games. During this period, they've conceded 23 goals and scored just eight, a clear indication of their defensive woes.
The club is already guaranteed to finish bottom of the table and will almost certainly end the season with the worst defensive record—currently, they've already conceded 83 goals. Valladolid's winless run in the league has reached 15 matches, with only one draw and 14 defeats.
Probable lineups
- Mallorca: Dominik Greif – Martin Valjent, Antonio Raíllo, Pablo Maffeo, Johan Mojica, José Manuel Copete – Antonio Sánchez, Sergi Darder, Daniel Rodríguez, Samu Costa – Cyle Larin
- Valladolid: André Ferreira – Antonio Candela, Cenk Özkaçar, Eray Cömert, Adam Aznou – Stanko Jurić, Iván Sánchez, Anuar Tuhami, Selim Amallah – Raúl Moro, Miguel Latasa
Match facts and head-to-head
- In the first round, Mallorca defeated their rivals away with a score of 2-1
- The "Over 2.5 goals" bet landed in three out of the last five meetings
- The "Both teams to score" option was successful in three of the last five encounters
Prediction
The islanders are still fighting for a spot in European competitions and have every chance of making it not only to the Conference League but also to the Europa League. The team fully understands the importance of every game now, as the margin for error is razor-thin. To keep their European hopes alive, Mallorca need to show consistency and pick up points in the remaining fixtures. I suggest going for "Over 2.5 goals" here at odds of 1.96.
