Preview: Mallorca vs. Celta Vigo - prediction, team news, lineups

Mallorca will be looking to make it back-to-back victories in La Liga when they welcome Celta Vigo to Visit Mallorca Stadium on Friday night.

The Pirates recorded a standout 2-1 win over champions Atletico Madrid in the league last weekend, while Celta will enter the contest off the back of a 2-1 home loss to Valencia.

Match preview

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Mallorca secured an immediate return to Spain's top flight by finishing second in the Segunda Division last season, and they will be delighted with their 2021-22 campaign to date, picking up 19 points from 16 matches, which has left them in a respectable 12th position in the table.

Luis Garcia's side are actually unbeaten in their last three matches in all competitions, drawing with Getafe in the league at the end of November before recording a 2-0 win over Gimnastica Segoviana in the first round of the Copa del Rey on December 1.

Mallorca then ran out 2-1 winners over La Liga champions Atletico at Wanda Metropolitano, with late goals from Franco Musso and Takefusa Kubo securing a famous three points for the Palma outfit last weekend.

There is still a lot of football to be played this season, but the indications thus far are that Los Bermellones should be looking up the table rather than down, with only four points separating them from seventh-placed Barcelona.

Mallorca also thumped Celta 5-1 when the two teams last locked horns in Palma in June 2020, while they picked up a point in a 2-2 draw in the reverse clash in Vigo.

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Celta, meanwhile, will enter the contest off the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Valencia on December 5, which proved to be their first loss in any competition since the end of October.

The Sky Blues have won four, drawn four and lost eight of their 16 league matches this season to collect 16 points, which is enough for 14th spot in the table heading into the next set of fixtures.

Celta enjoyed an excellent 2021-22 campaign, finishing eighth in the division, but they have struggled to show consistency in the opening months of this season.

Eduardo Coudet's side are still capable of enjoying a successful campaign, though, and they have been victorious in two of their last three matches in all competitions, including a 5-0 success at Ebro in the first round of the Copa del Rey on November 30.

Team News

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Mallorca will again be without the services of Antonio Raillo and Matthew Hoppe for Friday's clash through injury, while Salva Sevilla, Lago Junior and Amath Ndiaye remain fitness doubts.

Head coach Garcia is expected to stick with the majority of the side that started the 2-1 victory over Atletico last time out, but there could be a couple of changes in attack.

Indeed, Angel is in line to feature at centre-forward, while Kubo, who came off the bench to net the late winner in the capital, could feature in a wide position for the home side.

As for Celta, Augusto Solari remains on the sidelines through injury, while Hugo Mallo and Thiago Galhardo will need to undergo late fitness tests for the visitors.

Iago Aspas will also miss out, with the Spaniard suspended due to the yellow card that he seemingly deliberately picked up after suffering a groin injury against Valencia last time out.

The absence of Aspas will open the door for Nolito to feature alongside Santi Mina as part of a front two, while Fran Beltran should again keep out Renato Tapia in the middle of the park.

Mallorca possible starting lineup:

Reina; Maffeo, Valjent, Russo, Costa; Galarreta, Baba; Kubo, Kang-in, D Rodriguez; Angel

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Dituro; Vazquez, Aidoo, Araujo, Galan; Beltran; Mendez, Suarez, Cervi; Mina, Nolito

We say: Mallorca 2-2 Celta Vigo

There have been 10 goals in the last two league matches between these two sides, and we are predicting another open and entertaining contest on Friday night. Mallorca will be full of confidence after beating Atletico, but Celta have enough quality to secure a share of the spoils in this match.