Preview: Mallorca vs Real Sociedad - prediction, team news, lineups

Real Sociedad will be aiming to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they make the trip to Estadi Mallorca Son Moix on Saturday to tackle Mallorca.

The away side are 18th in the La Liga table, one point behind 17th-placed Elche, while Real Sociedad are 10th, five points off sixth-placed Celta Vigo in the battle for Europe.

Match preview

Mallorca have had a tough campaign, only picking up 24 points from their 25 La Liga matches, which has left them down in 18th spot in the table, one point behind 17th-placed Elche.

The Pirates finished 10th in Spain's top flight last term, only four points off the European spots, so their struggles this season have come as a surprise.

Mallorca announced earlier this week that Jagoba Arrasate had been sacked as head coach, with the team falling to a third straight defeat against Celta Vigo last weekend.

Martin Demichelis has been announced as the new manager, with the former Manchester City defender arriving at the club after spells in charge of River Plate and Monterrey.

Mallorca have picked up 19 points from their 12 home league matches this season, and they will be welcoming a Real Sociedad outfit that have 11 points from their 12 away fixtures.

Real Sociedad lead the overall head-to-head record against Mallorca, having triumphed in 31 of their previous 68 matches, suffering 24 defeats in the process.

Earlier this season, the Basque outfit recorded a 1-0 victory on home soil, but they lost 1-0 to the Pirates in the corresponding fixture during the 2024-25 campaign.

La Real will enter this match off the back of a 3-3 draw with basement side Oviedo, coming from behind to lead 3-2 heading into the final moments, only for Eric Bailly to come up with a last-gasp leveller for the team at the foot of the division.

Pellegrino Matarazzo's side currently sit in 10th spot in the La Liga table, but they are still in the mix for a European finish, sitting only five points behind sixth-placed Celta Vigo.

Real Sociedad will be hoping that Mallorca do not have a new manager bounce on Saturday.

Mallorca La Liga form:

WLWLLL

Real Sociedad La Liga form:

WWDWLD

Real Sociedad form (all competitions):

DWWWLD

Team News

Mallorca will be without the services of Takuma Asano and Jan Salas due to injury problems, while Marash Kumbulla is a major doubt for the contest.

Vedat Muriqi has been in excellent form this season, scoring 16 times in 24 appearances in Spain's top flight, and the 31-year-old will continue in the final third of the field.

There are not expected to be any real surprises in the Mallorca side this weekend, with Zito Luvumbo in line for another appearance following his arrival on loan from Cagliari last month.

As for Real Sociedad, Brais Mendez is out of the match through suspension, with the midfielder picking up his fifth yellow card of the campaign against Real Oviedo last time out.

Meanwhile, Inaki Ruperez, Takefusa Kubo and Alvaro Odriozola are unavailable through injury.

Mikel Oyarzabal has played a lot of football through the middle this season, but Orri Oskarsson's two goals off the bench against Oviedo should mean that the attacker comes into the XI here.

Mallorca possible starting lineup:

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

Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:

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

We say: Mallorca 1-1 Real Sociedad

There has only been 13 draws in the previous 68 matches between Mallorca and Real Sociedad, but we are expecting the points to be shared on Saturday, with Demichelis set to pick up a positive result on his first game in charge.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.