PREVIEW | Mallorca vs Real Betis – team news, lineups, predictions

Son Moix is braced for a compelling round-24 La Liga duel on Sunday as Mallorca welcome high-flying Real Betis to the Balearic coast. Jagoba Arrasate’s side, sitting 15th with 24 points, are desperate to arrest a worrying slide that saw them ship nine goals without reply across their last three matches, culminating in a 3-0 defeat at Barcelona last weekend. Betis, by contrast, arrive in fifth on 38 points after a morale-boosting 1-0 win away to Atlético de Madrid and will view this as an opportunity to tighten their grip on the European places.

Team news and expected lineups

Arrasate is expected to keep faith with the XI that started at the Camp Nou, meaning Leo Román in goal behind a back four of Pablo Maffeo, Martin Valjent, David López and Johan Mojica. Samuel Costa and Omar Mascarell will anchor midfield, with Mateu Morey, Pablo Torre and Jan Virgili providing creativity ahead of them. Vedat Muriqi leads the line as the focal point of a 4-2-3-1.

Pellegrini has no fresh injury concerns and should field the same side that frustrated Atlético. Álvaro Valles starts in goal, protected by Aitor Ruibal, Diego Llorente, Natan and Ricardo Rodríguez. Marc Roca and Pablo Fornals will look to dictate tempo, while Álvaro Fidalgo, Antony and Abde Ezzalzouli support striker Cédric Bakambu in a fluid 4-3-3.

Head-to-head pointers

History smiles on Betis overall: 36 wins to Mallorca’s 30 in 79 meetings, with seven draws. Yet Son Moix has traditionally been a fortress for the hosts, who have claimed 19 victories in 39 home clashes against the Verdiblancos. Arrasate’s personal record against Pellegrini is less encouraging – two wins, one draw and nine defeats in 12 managerial duels – while his tally versus Betis overall reads four wins, two draws and ten losses.

Form watch

Mallorca have lost only once in their last ten home league outings and have scored in each of their last ten at Son Moix, but they have also conceded in five straight on their own patch and are winless in their previous nine across all venues. Betis, meanwhile, have lost just three times in their last 19 away fixtures and only five in their last 23 overall, though they have drawn only once in their last 12 league assignments.

Prediction

With Betis buoyant and Mallorca leaking goals, the visitors will fancy another three points. Expect a tight affair decided by small margins, but the visitors’ superior confidence and firepower should prevail.

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