Mallorca vs Rayo Vallecano Predictions & Match Preview

Mallorca vs Rayo Vallecano predictions and match preview for Sunday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as the visitors target a place in Europe.

Mallorca vs Rayo Vallecano Preview

Mallorca and Rayo Vallecano face off on the final weekend in LaLiga. The hosts are one of the only teams outside of the top six with nothing to play for on the final weekend while Rayo Vallecano still have an outside shot of clinching a place in Europe.

Javier Aguirre will be hoping his side can sign off with another win to close out an excellent season. Realistically, avoiding relegation was always going to be the only major objective for Mallorca this term. A yo-yo side for so long, even dropping down into the third tier in the late 2010’s, Mallorca survived on the final day last season and their fans will probably be happy to settle for one of their least eventful campaigns in recent times.

It hasn’t always been pretty but they’ve never really looked like a team in any serious relegation danger, mostly hovering in mid-table throughout a season which has seen them be strong at home but often struggle on their travels. 68% of their points have come in Palma and they’ve the chance to hit 50 points overall if they finish with a win here.

Mallorca would also leapfrog Rayo Vallecano in the table with a victory but this is a bigger game for the away team. A win, coupled with a draw between Osasuna and Girona and Athletic not winning at the Bernabeu, would see Rayo clinch 7th and a place in next season’s UEFA Conference League. That would be a fine way for Andoni Iraola to end his time in charge of the Madrid club with the highly rated coach having confirmed he will leave this summer.

Iraola has worked wonders with this Rayo team and they produced a good performance in his final home game, a 2-1 win over high-flying Villarreal last weekend. A bit like Mallorca, Rayo have rarely been as convincing away with only 17 points from 18 away games to date and they have let in 9 goals in their last 3 away games alone.

Team News & Possible Lineups

Mallorca

Possible XI: Greif – Copete, Valjent, Giovanni – Costa, Galaretta, Morlanes, Maffeo – Dani Rodriguez, Kang-in – Muriqi (3-4-2-1)

Coach: Javier Aguirre

Rayo

Possible XI: Dimitrievski – Fran Garcia, Catena, Lejeune, Balliu – Comesana, Valentin – Alvaro Garcia, Trejo, Isi – De Tomas (4-2-3-1)

Coach: Andoni Iraola

Score Prediction: Mallorca 2-1 Rayo Vallecano

Much will depend on Mallorca’s focus and desire here with Rayo the side with the greater need to target the win. Javier Aguirre is unlikely to let his players switch off just yet though and the chance to secure a top half finish with a win will also be some motivation for Mallorca. We may see some light rotation but they may just edge this with home advantage and gaps likely to appear in the Rayo side if they really try to target three points in the Second Half.

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