Las Palmas vs Mallorca prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-08-11 17:30.
Las Palmas ended a five-year La Liga (LL) exile by finishing second in last season’s Segunda DivisiĂłn under the guidance of GarcĂa Pimienta, who has acquitted himself impressively in his maiden senior management role after succeeding Pepe Mel in January 2022. The Gran Canarians have made several signings in an effort to stay afloat in the top flight, bringing in former Barcelona youngster Sandro RamĂrez – who Pimienta worked with at La Masia – as well as left-back Daley Sinkgraven and right-back Julián Araujo, who has arrived on loan from Barcelona.
Despite those additions, Pimienta’s men are up against it in their fight for survival, after trundling to promotion last term with just two wins from their final eight league games (D4, L2). They have also failed to claim victory in any of their last four opening-weekend fixtures (D2, L2), something they will look to change against Mallorca, a team they last faced in LL way back in January 2002, in an encounter which finished 3-1 to Las Palmas.
Mallorca excelled in 2022/23, finishing ninth, their highest LL finish for 11 years. While the loss of electric winger Lee Kang-in to Paris Saint-Germain this summer has been a blow, Las Palmas’ fellow islanders have secured a permanent deal to sign Manu Morlanes after his successful loan spell at Son Moix last season, and Canada international Cyle Larin has joined from Real Valladolid after netting eight goals in 19 league matches since his move to Spain in January.
Mallorca may be approaching this match with some trepidation however, having won just once in their last eight visits (D3, L4) to Las Palmas’ Estadio Gran Canaria. That solitary victory came on their second-most recent trip when Antonio RaĂllo, still an integral part of the first-team set-up, bagged a rare winner. Can the centre-back repeat that feat to help claim three points for Javier Aguirre’s side?
Players to watch: Sandro RamĂrez was a hugely influential figure last season on loan at Las Palmas, netting seven times in 21 league games, with all of his strikes ultimately proving crucial in the promotion charge. At the other end of the pitch, Vedat Muriqi will be aiming to build on a fairytale campaign which saw him score 15 LL goals, fewer than only Joselu, Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski.
Hot stat: Only two of Mallorca’s last 11 LL goals have come in the first half.