The Matchday 16 clash in La Liga between Celta and Mallorca will take place on December 6 at the Balaídos Stadium. Celta vs. Mallorca: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Predicted lineups for Celta vs. Mallorca
Celta (3-4-3): Vicente Guaita – Marcos Alonso, Javi Rodriguez, Carl Starfelt – Oscar Mingueza, Ilaix Moriba, Hugo Alvarez, Damian Rodriguez – Jonathan Bamba, Iago Aspas, Anastasios Douvikas.
Mallorca (4-2-3-1): Leo Roman – Pablo Maffeo, Joan Mojica, Antonio Raillo, Martin Valjent – Manu Morlanes, Samu Costa – Valeri Fernandez Estrada, Sergi Darder, Antonio Sanchez – Vedat Muriqi.
The starting lineup for each team in their previous match in this tournament is listed.
Celta
The Galicians suffered a 1-3 away defeat to Espanyol in the last round. Before that, the team went unbeaten in three consecutive league matches, drawing with stronger opponents like Betis and Barcelona (2-2) and defeating Getafe (1-0). Claudio Giraldez's side is positioned closer to the middle of the standings and is five points clear of the relegation zone. It's also worth noting their weak defensive play, having conceded 27 goals, with only Valladolid having a worse defensive record (32 goals).
- The club has not won in 5 of their last 6 La Liga matches (2 draws and 3 losses).
- At least three goals have been scored in 14 of Celta's last 18 La Liga games.
- The number "1" has appeared in the final score in 8 of the Galicians' last 11 league matches.
Mallorca
The Islanders were thrashed 1-5 at home by Barcelona, the season's leader, in their last La Liga match. However, before that, the team defeated Las Palmas (3-2) and Valencia (2-1). Interestingly, the defeat to the Catalans was the club's first heavy loss in the league since early February this year. The team is in a high sixth place in the standings, although they score at the level of teams near the relegation zone, with only 16 goals.
- The number "1" has appeared in the final score in 11 of Mallorca's last 13 La Liga games.
- The first half ended in a draw in the Islanders' last seven La Liga matches.
- At least two goals have been scored in 8 of the club's last 11 away league matches.
Celta vs. Mallorca: Match Prediction
Jagoba Arrasate's side has repeatedly proven this season that they can quickly recover from defeats. I believe the team will at least not lose this game, as they have fairly good away results this season – 4 wins and 3 losses, which is the fifth-best away record in La Liga. Celta is a purely home team, but their four home wins in the current La Liga came against opponents ranked below 15th place in the standings.
Also supporting a bet on Mallorca is the head-to-head statistics in La Liga. In the last 12 meetings, the Galicians have won only once. In the other matches, the Islanders won six times, and there were five draws. Notably, in the last two meetings at Balaídos, Celta suffered two 0-1 defeats. Therefore, my prediction is Mallorca to win or draw.