Real Mallorca will take on Villarreal on Saturday, 14 September as La Liga returns following the first international break of the season.
The hosts will be relatively pleased with how they have started the new season and currently sit comfortably in midtable on five points.
The visitors, meanwhile, will be ecstatic with how they've started their campaign. They are unbeaten so far and sit inside the top four on eight points.
How the bookies view it: The hosts go in as favourites
Despite Villarreal's brilliant start to the new season, they are considered the underdogs for this fixture with the bookmakers. Betfred have put significant importance on home advantage here and have priced a Real Mallorca win at 6/4 and a Villarreal win at 15/8. The draw, which wouldn't be a bad result for either team, has been priced at 9/4.
Recent head-to-head: Honours even
The recent record between these two teams suggests that this is a match that could go either way. Both teams have won two matches apiece across their five most recent clashes with the fifth match ending all square.
Villarreal will take great encouragement from the fact that they won in Mallorca last season thanks to a gaol from Gerard Moreno.
Players to watch: Can Perez break the Mallorcan resolve?
Real Mallorca's solid start to the new La Liga season has been built around their defence so it's no surprise that they have used the exact same centre-back pairing in all four of their matches so far. The result of that is that two clean sheets and just one goal conceded in each of their other two games.
The two men at the back who are proving tricky customers this season are Antonio Raillo and Martin Valjent. The pair have played together for several seasons now which always helps but they currently look like two players in their prime.
Looking to get the better of them on Saturday will be Ayoze Perez. The 31-year-old, who played for Spain in the international break, has already scored twice for Villarreal this season and made his first start of the season in the match prior to the break. Now he is fully up to speed, he should be unleashed again this weekend.
Predicted line-ups
Brighton are without three players this weekend with new signing, Matthew O'Riley the biggest loss for the Seagulls. Joining the Dane in the treatment room are Solly March and James Milner. Ipswich have injury concerns of their own and will be without five first-team players including George Hirst and Wesley Burns.
Real Mallorca: Greif – Valery, Raillo, Valjent, Mojica – Morlanes, Costa, Darder – Asano, Rodriguez, Muriqi
Villarreal: Conde – Femenia, Albiol, Bailly, Cardona – Comesana, Pino, Parejo, Baena – Barry, Perez
Anything else catch the eye?
As the home team, the game is likely to be played on Real Mallorca's terms which means we could be in for a low-scoring affair based on how they have started the season. All four of their matches so far have seen fewer than three goals and under 2.5 goals to be scored again on Saturday has been priced at 8/1 by Betfred.
This La Liga match between Real Mallorca and Villarreal will be played on Sep 14, 2024 and kick off at 13:00. Check below for our tipsters best Real Mallorca vs Villarreal prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
