Round 22 of the 2022-23 Spanish La Liga season brings an exciting battle from Estadi Mallorca Son Moix in Palma de Mallorca. The visitors are slight favorites to grab three points, but beating Mallorca on the road might be a tall order.
Mallorca – Villarreal Betting Tip, Prediction & Odds (18.2.2023)
Villarreal heads to Palma de Mallorca riding a three-game losing streak. It’s a tough spot for the Yellow Submarine, as Mallorca is on a four-game winning streak at home. The Pirates have already defeated Villarreal this season and hope for another positive result.
Mallorca vs. Villarreal: Initial Situation
After three straight losses against Rayo Vallecano 1-0, Elche 3-1, and Barcelona 1-0, Villarreal fell to the eighth spot in La Liga with 31 points (W9, D4, L8) and a 22:18 goal difference. The Yellow Submarine are seven points behind the Champions League spot. The Pirates, on the other side, are tenth with 28 points (W8, D4, L9) and a 16:20 goal difference.
Mallorca Stats & Form
The Pirates suffered a 2-0 road loss against Sevilla last Saturday. It was their fourth straight defeat away from home, and the Pirates haven’t scored in that stretch. However, the Pirates have won four straight games at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix with an identical 1-0 outcome. Just two weeks ago, they beat Real Madrid at home thanks to Nacho’s own goal. Only three of Mallorca’s 21 league games this season have seen more than a couple of goals on the scoreboard.
Manager Javier Aguirre uses three centre-backs regularly and doesn’t care for possession. He also likes to rotate a lot, and his squad is full of experienced players. Vedat Muriqi, a 28-year-old powerhouse forward, operates as a target man and has accounted for eight goals in 19 La Liga games this season. The 21-year-old midfielder Kang-In Lee is a rare young player in this Mallorca team, and he’s notched four assists and a couple of goals in 20 league appearances.
Villarreal Stats & Form
The Yellow Submarine are coming off Sunday’s 1-0 home loss against Barcelona. They battled bravely against the best team in Spain but didn’t really deserve to get anything from the game. Jose Luis Morales got the starting call upfront due to some injury problems, and the veteran 35-year-old striker missed one-on-one in the dying moments of the first half, blowing Villarreal’s best chance to get an equalizer.
Both Gerard Moreno (nine goals, five assists in all competitions) and Nicolas Jackson (three goals, three assists) missed the Barcelona game. While Jackson and midfielder Francis Coquelin are out indefinitely, Moreno is considered questionable for Saturday’s clash against Mallorca. Jose Luis Morales has nine goals in 31 apps in all competitions, so manager Quique Setien needs more from his wingers Alex Baena (ten goals, five assists) and Samuel Chukwueze (eight goals, seven assists).
Mallorca – Villarreal: Head-to-Head
The Pirates beat the Yellow Submarine 2-0 in their first meeting of the season on November 6. Vedat Muriqi scored once and had an assist, while his team held the ball in possession for a paltry 29 percent of the time. Villarreal has won two of its previous four games against Mallorca along with a draw and a loss, but the Yellow Submarine are winless in five straight visits to Palma de Mallorca, recording three losses in the process.
Mallorca – Villarreal Odds
On paper, Villarreal is the better of the two teams, but the odds tell you how close this game should be. We should see a low-scoring affair, and the Under 2.5 Goals pays only 1.44 on bet365 Sportsbook.
The Yellow Submarine will dominate possession once more, but I don’t think they’ll have enough firepower to outscore the Pirates on the road, especially if Gerard Moreno remains on the sidelines. The Pirates are on a ridiculous home streak, and winning 1-0 for the fifth straight outing would be too much. This game could easily end up in a draw at 3.00 odds which seems pretty tempting.
Betting tip and prediction: Mallorca – Villarreal (18.2.2023)