Villarreal vs Mallorca prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2025-01-19 20:00.
[p]Villarreal find themselves at risk of losing pace in the race for Europe after being defeated more across the last five league rounds (W1, D1, L3) than they were across the opening 14 (W7, D5, L2). A visit from Mallorca may be just what Villarreal need at this moment, as they’re the only side beginning this round in the top-half that they’ve defeated in league action this season (W1, D3, L5). [/p]
[p]Finding consistency at home will be key to any European push this season, and Villarreal come into this clash after posting differing results in succession across all of their games here this season (W3, D4, L2). A continuation of that trend here suggests this game will be decided one way or the other, and Villarreal may be quietly confident of falling on the right right side having won four of the last six home H2Hs (D1, L1). [/p]
[p]Mallorca will be glad to return to La Liga action after what has been a tough start to 2025, with the club dumped out of both the Spanish Supercup and the Copa del Rey. Those defeats mean that Mallorca have strangely traded back-to-back defeats with consecutive victories across each of their last ten competitive outings (W4, L6), last drawing back in October 2024. [/p]
[p]Visiting boss Jagoba Arrasate will be under no illusions about the scale of the challenge here given his five-match winless run in personal H2Hs against Villarreal (D1, L4), representing as many defeats as his teams had posted across the first ten such clashes. Even so, He ought not to be too despondent, as Mallorca travel here having won the majority of their last ten La Liga away games (W6, L4), which is triple the amount of victories that they’d posted in 30 top-flight trips prior![/p]
[p]Players to watch: Scoring three times and receiving as many yellow cards across his last six appearances, Villarreal’s Álex Baena has been in the thick of the action lately. For Mallorca, Dani Rodríguez may be happy to face Villarreal as he’s scored a career-high three La Liga goals against them, which all arrived before the hour mark. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Villarreal boss Marcelino has faced his opposite number Jagoba Arrasate more often than any other coach in La Liga without ever losing (W6, D2). [/p]
[p][i]Written by Matthew Billon[/i][/p]