Preview:Villarreal vs Mallorca - prediction, team news, lineups

Villarreal will welcome Mallorca to the Estadio de la Ceramica on Saturday evening as both sides resume La Liga action following the international break.

The Yellow Submarine are enjoying one of their strongest starts in recent years, while the visitors continue searching for consistency in a mixed campaign.

Match preview

Third in the La Liga table, Villarreal have made an impressive start to the season across their opening 12 matches.

With 26 points on the board, they sit just two points behind Barcelona and five off leaders Real Madrid, maintaining steady momentum under Marcelino.

The hosts have won eight matches, drawn two and lost two, scoring 24 goals and conceding just 10 - the joint-lowest tally in the league alongside Real Madrid.

Their defensive discipline has been further highlighted by a league-high six clean sheets so far.

Villarreal enter this match in excellent form, winning four of their last five games in all competitions and scoring at least two goals in each of those victories.

They are coming off a solid 2-0 win over Espanyol before the international break, with Gerard Moreno and Alberto Moleiro both on the scoresheet.

The Yellow Submarine have also won their last three league fixtures against Espanyol, Valencia and Rayo Vallecano and remain unbeaten in La Liga since a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid at the start of October.

Mallorca, meanwhile, find themselves in a contrasting situation, sitting 15th in the table with 12 points from three wins, three draws and six defeats.

They have scored 12 goals and conceded 18 in what has been a turbulent campaign so far.

However, Jagoba Arrasate’s men arrive with renewed confidence after a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Getafe, thanks to a decisive finish from Vedat Muriqi - his sixth goal of the season.

Mallorca have scored seven goals in their last five matches and kept two clean sheets in their previous six outings, showing signs of improvement despite their inconsistency.

Head-to-head, Villarreal have won the last two meetings between the sides and boast five victories from the last ten encounters, with Mallorca winning three and two ending in draws.

Villarreal La Liga form:

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Villarreal form (all competitions):

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Mallorca La Liga form:

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Mallorca form (all competitions):

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Team News

Villarreal will be without Willy Kambwala and Pau Cabanes due to injury issues, while Manor Solomon is sidelined with a back problem.

Georges Mikautadze is doubtful due to a muscle injury and may not feature in this encounter.

Marcelino is expected to stick largely with the team that comfortably defeated Espanyol.

Renato Veiga and Rafa Marin should continue in central defence, with Thomas Partey partnering Santi Comesana in midfield, as well as Moleiro and Tajon Buchanan.

For Mallorca, goalkeeper Leo Roman remains out with a hamstring injury until early December, and Toni Lato is also sidelined with a similar issue.

Marash Kumbulla is a major doubt due to another hamstring problem, while Dani Rodriguez remains unavailable for personal reasons.

Muriqi, who leads Mallorca’s scoring charts, is expected to spearhead the attack once again, supported by Mateo Joseph and Sergi Darder in the final third.

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

Junior; Navarro, Marin, Veiga, Alfonso; Buchanan, Partey, Comesana, Moleiro; Moreno, Oluwaseyi

Mallorca possible starting lineup:

Bergstrom; Mojica, Raillo, Valjent, Maffeo; Costa, Mascarell; Virgili, Darder, Joseph; Muriqi