Mallorca vs Athletic Bilbao

Relegation-battling Mallorca will be looking to string together two La Liga wins for the first time since August 2021 when they take on high-flying Athletic Bilbao at the Visit Mallorca Estadi.

Mallorca came from behind to beat Cadiz 2-1 in their La Liga relegation six-pointer last time out, bringing their humiliating four-game losing league streak to a halt. The two goals they scored against Cadiz were as many as they had in their previous five top-flight outings combined, highlighting Mallorca’s lack of scoring capacity this season. Indeed, ‘Los Piratas’ have bagged a league-low 19 goals this La Liga campaign, averaging just 0.86 goals scored per game. Another stern test is lying ahead as they meet a Bilbao side they’ve failed to defeat in any of their last seven La Liga encounters (D2, L5). What’s more, they have only scored twice in their previous five top-flight H2Hs, falling to a 2-0 loss in the reverse fixture back in September.

In the meantime, Athletic Bilbao have gone into overdrive since the calendar year flipped to 2022, recording three wins from their four La Liga outings (D1), including two in a row ahead of this trip. ‘Los Leones’ will relish their chances of posting a third top-flight victory on the trot for the first time since December 2019. But a lack of consistency that has seen them alternate between wins (2) and draws (2) across their last four La Liga away matches could throw a spanner in the works. Entertainment has been at a premium in Bilbao’s road trips this season, with just one of their 12 La Liga away games so far featuring over 2.5 overall goals. In fact, Athletic’s average of 1.08 goals scored/conceded per away league fixture is the lowest in Spain’s top division this term.