A La Liga mid-table showdown takes place at Mallorca Son Moix on Sunday evening, as Mallorca lock horns with Rayo Vallecano in the final gameweek of the 2022-23 season.
While neither side is realistically playing for anything other than pride, Javier Aguirre's team will leapfrog their visitors in the table with another maximum in front of their own fans.
Match preview
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Mallorca may have paid tribute to runaway champions Barcelona with the customary guard of honour at Camp Nou last weekend, but there was no shred of mercy from the Catalonian giants, who prolonged Los Piratas' misery on rival turf with a comprehensive 3-0 beating.
Two well-worked goals from Ansu Fati - the first of which was struck with just 49 seconds on the clock - came either side of a straight red card for Amath Ndiaye following his horror tackle on Alejandro Balde, who had to be carried off the field by medical staff as Mallorca prepared to see out 76 minutes with 10 men.
The onslaught would eventually continue, but not until the 70th minute when Gavi's fine finish put the cherry on the icing on the cake, as Mallorca succumbed to a fourth successive defeat on the road, albeit an inconsequential one regarding their end-of-season fortunes.
Marooned in 12th place in the table, Mallorca are only three points worse off than seventh-placed Osasuna - such is the tightly-packed nature of the standings, and Aguirre's side will not drop any lower than their current ranking no matter what transpires in the final gameweek of the season.
For all of their recent failures on rival turf, home is where the heart is for Mallorca, who have strung together a six-game unbeaten run at their headquarters - winning three of their last four there - and somewhat surprisingly, only basement side Elche have got the better of Los Piratas on their own turf in 2023.
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Also displaying their own hot streak on home soil, Rayo Vallecano ended Villarreal's already-fleeting hopes of Champions League qualification last weekend, putting the Yellow Submarine to the sword 2-1 at a rainy Campo de Futbol de Vallecas.
Following a goalless opening 45 minutes, Raul de Tomas headed home his fourth goal in five games before Isi Palazon doubled Vallecano's lead only seven minutes later, and Andoni Iraola's side survived a nervy end to the contest after Giovani Lo Celso cut the deficit in half.
In truth, though, Vallecano could and probably should have won by more on the day, as Iraola's charges snapped a three-game losing streak in the top flight to cement their position in 10th place, only behind Girona courtesy of head-to-head points and still in with a chance of qualifying for the Europa Conference League.
A seventh-placed finish is certainly not out of the question for Vallecano, as at least one of Osasuna and Girona will drop points in their encounter, while Athletic Bilbao - who sit eighth - must make the trek to Real Madrid, but a spate of dreadful away showings will do Iraola's side no favours at all.
Indeed, this weekend's visitors have lost each of their last four on the road - going winless in their last eight in total since coincidentally beating Villarreal in January - and Mallorca have prevailed in the most recent two meetings between the sides, including a routine 2-0 success on Vallecano's turf back in August.
Team News
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While Mallorca have now lost Ndiaye to suspension following his red card-worthy challenge on Barcelona's Balde, Aguirre will be boosted by the returns of Lee Kang-in and Antonio Sanchez from bans of their own; the former could very well be a straight swap for Ndiaye in the final third.
Matija Nastasic (calf) and Dennis Hadzikadunic (thigh) will not recover in time for the final game of the season, but Ludwig Augustinsson (ankle), Antonio Raillo (toe) and Inigo Ruiz de Galaretta (muscle) have been put through their paces in training and might enjoy cameo roles if they can prove their respective fitness levels.
Number one goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic took a backseat role at Camp Nou as Dominik Greif enjoyed a rare start - albeit not a memorable one - and Aguirre is now reportedly considering promoting third-choice shot-stopper Leo Roman to the first XI.
As for Vallecano, Iraola - who is confirmed to be leaving the club at the end of the season - is still sweating over the fitness of captain Oscar Trejo, who missed the win over Villarreal due to a sore calf and remains a major doubt for Sunday.
Backup goalkeeper Diego Lopez also sat out that success due to illness and will need closer assessment, but the 41-year-old would have had little chance of displacing Stole Dimitrievski either way.
Surely seeing no need to disrupt the harmony after last weekend's exploits, Iraola will be tempted to put out an unchanged XI here, leaving 37-year-old Radamel Falcao on the bench once more.
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Roman; Maffeo, Copete, Valjent, Gaya, Costa; Rodriguez, Morlanes, Baba, Lee; Muriqi
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Balliu, Mumin, Catena, Garcia; Palazon, Comesana, Valentin, Chavarria; Garcia, De Tomas
We say: Mallorca 2-1 Rayo Vallecano
Rayo Vallecano may have more to fight for than Mallorca on the final day as they seek to upset the Europa Conference League apple cart, but unless Iraola can fix his side's away-day misfortunes overnight, the visitors are destined to fall short.
Aguirre's side have also made up for shortcomings on the road with dominant showings on their own patch, and we are backing such a trend to continue, allowing Mallorca to jump up the rankings on the final day while dashing Vallecano's dreams of continental football.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
