Mallorca vs Real Sociedad – News and Probable Lineups

Real Sociedad will be looking to get back to winning form in Espanha’s top division when they visit Estadi Mallorca Son Moix on Saturday to face Mallorca.

The away team finds itself in 18th place in the La Liga standings, trailing 17th-placed Elche by one point, while Real Sociedad occupies the 10th position, five points behind sixth-placed Celta Vigo in the European qualification race.

Match overview

Mallorca is enduring a challenging season, accumulating only 24 points across 25 La Liga games, which has placed them in 18th position, just one point below 17th-placed Elche.

The Pirates concluded the previous season in 10th place in Espanha’s top flight, just four points shy of European qualifications; hence their current struggles are unexpected.

Earlier this week, Mallorca announced the dismissal of Jagoba Arrasate as head coach, following a third consecutive defeat against Celta Vigo last weekend.

Martin Demichelis has been appointed as the new head coach, with the former Manchester City defender taking over after his tenures at River Plate and Monterrey.

This season, Mallorca has secured 19 points from their 12 home league games, welcoming a Real Sociedad side that has gathered 11 points from their 12 away encounters.

Real Sociedad holds the historical advantage over Mallorca, having won 31 out of their last 68 encounters, suffering 24 defeats in the process.

In their earlier meeting this season, the Basque team achieved a 1-0 victory at home; however, they faced a 1-0 defeat against the Pirates in the corresponding match during the 2024-25 season.

La Real will enter this fixture following a 3-3 draw with the bottom-placed Oviedo, managing to turn around the game to take a 3-2 lead in the closing moments, only for Eric Bailly to score a last-minute equalizer for the side at the bottom of the league.

Pellegrino Matarazzo’s squad currently sits in 10th place in the La Liga standings, but remains in contention for a European spot, sitting just five points behind sixth-placed Celta Vigo.

Real Sociedad will be hoping that Mallorca does not experience the typical managerial bounce on Saturday.

Mallorca La Liga form:

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Real Sociedad La Liga form:

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Real Sociedad form (all competitions):

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Team News

Mallorca will be missing Takuma Asano and Jan Salas due to injury concerns, while Marash Kumbulla is a significant doubt for the match.

Vedat Muriqi has had a standout season, scoring 16 goals in 24 appearances in Espanha’s top division, and the 31-year-old is expected to continue upfront.

No substantial changes are anticipated in the Mallorca lineup this weekend, with Zito Luvumbo expected to feature again following his loan transfer from Cagliari last month.

For Real Sociedad, Brais Mendez will be out of action due to suspension after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season against Real Oviedo in the last match.

Additionally, Inaki Ruperez, Takefusa Kubo, and Alvaro Odriozola are sidelined through injuries.

Mikel Oyarzabal has played extensively through the middle this season, but Orri Oskarsson’s two goals from the bench against Oviedo may lead to him being included in the starting XI for this match.

Mallorca probable starting XI:

Roman; Maffeo, Raillo, Valjent, Mojica; Costa, Morlanes; Luvumbo, Darder, Virgili; Muriqi

Real Sociedad probable starting XI:

Remiro; Aramburu, Martin, Caleta-Car, Gomez; Gorrotxategi, Herrera; Guedes, Soler, Oyarzabal; Oskarsson

In the 68 previous matches between Mallorca and Real Sociedad, there have only been 13 draws, but we anticipate that the points will be divided on Saturday, as Demichelis is expected to achieve a positive result in his first match in charge.