High draw potential on the Balearic Islands?
Promoted RCD Mallorca have only won four of their 16 league games so far. Nevertheless, the Balearic kickers already have a seven-point cushion on the first relegation spot. The reason for this is that they have only lost five games and have a strong tendency to draw points.
Now Celta Vigo, the eighth-placed team from the previous season, will be playing at the Visit Mallorca Estadi. The Galicians, however, will travel without superstar Iago Aspas, who scored seven of the Celestes’ only 17 league goals. Accordingly, the odds are slightly in favour of Mallorca against Celta Vigo
The promoted team is certainly strong at home. The Mallorcans have not lost ten of their last twelve home games, but they have rarely scored in their own stadium. In the eight home games of the 2021/22 season, only eight goals were scored. Only twice in the last nine home games have there been more than one own goal.
Accordingly, there is a lot of value to be found in betting on a draw with Mallorca against Celta Vigo. Because of the risk involved, it might be a good idea to play this tip as a free bet.
Mallorca – Statistics & current form
The Real Club Deportivo Mallorca has been in existence since 1916, and after losing out as finalists in the 1998 Copa del Rey, the Bermellones were involved in the 1998/99 European Cup Winners’ Cup, where they surprisingly reached the final. There, too, the Balearic club failed to win the title.
Four years later, however, the Mallorcans won the Copa del Rey in 2003 and celebrated their greatest success in the club’s history to date. The club, who were promoted from La Liga 2 as runners-up this summer, occupy 20th place in the eternal La Liga table.
Already seven points clear of a relegation place
Last time RCD Mallorca failed to hold on was when they visited La Liga in the 2019/20 season, finishing 19th in the final table. Currently, however, under promotion coach Luis García, the Bermellones are well on their way to re-establishing themselves in the Spanish top flight of football.
The promoted team has only won four of its 16 league games. With seven more draws, the team from the Balearic Islands are nevertheless a comfortable seven points clear of the first relegation spot in the secure midfield of the table.
Five of the last seven league games ended in a draw
At the weekend, the Mallorcans managed a real respectable success when they recorded a 2-1 away win at reigning champions Atlético Madrid. This means that they have only lost one of their last seven league games, with all five other matches ending in a draw.
With this in mind, betting on Mallorca against Celta Vigo for the next points’ draw is also a very good idea. Despite the upswing, the Bermellones have failed to win 11 of their last 13 games.
Predicted line-up of Mallorca:
Reina – Costa – Valjent – Russo – Maffeo – Ruiz de Galarreta – Baba – Sánchez – Rodríguez – Lee – Prats
Last matches played in Mallorca:
LaLiga
12/04 2021 – Atletico Madrid 1 – 2 Mallorca
Copa del Rey
12/01 2021 – Gimnastica Segoviana 0 – 2 Mallorca
LaLiga
11/27 2021 – Mallorca 0 – 0 Getafe
11/22 2021 – Rayo Vallecano 3 – 1 Mallorca
11/07 2021 – Mallorca 2 – 2 Elche
Celta Vigo – Statistics & current form
Celta Vigo made a big splash in the 2016/17 season when the Galicians reached the semi-finals on their UEFA Europa League debut. Since then, however, things have gone downhill for the club, who have lost all four Copa del Rey finals they have reached and are still without a title.
In the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, Celta Vigo finished 17th in the final table and just about kept their place in the league on two occasions, before finishing a quiet 2020/21 season in eighth place in the table in their first year under new coach Eduardo Coudet.
16 points from first 16 league games
Instead of building on their strong pre-season, the Celestes are currently looking downwards again. The Galicians have picked up 16 points from their first 16 league games and are only 14th in the La Liga table.
The Coudet team had a great November, in which the Célticos remained unbeaten in all five matches (two wins, three draws) and picked up six of a possible twelve points in league play. Last weekend, however, there was another setback in the 2-1 home defeat against Valencia.
Iago Aspas missing
The Celestes also lost their superstar Iago Aspas, who could be out for longer. The 34-year-old injured himself when he scored the goal to take a 1-0 lead and then picked up a fifth yellow card just before his substitution for taking off his jersey. Just as Sergio Ramos once brought about a deliberate yellow card suspension and was banned by UEFA for it, Iago Aspas now faces an investigation.
Either way, the Galicians will be without their most important player for at least this away game in the Balearics, leaving the Célticos as slight underdogs.
Predicted line-up of Celta Vigo:
Dituro – Galán – Araujo – Aidoo – Vazquez – Beltrán – Cervi – Suárez – Méndez – Mina – Aspas
Last matches played by Celta Vigo:
LaLiga
12/05 2021 – Celta Vigo 1 – 2 Valencia
Copa del Rey
11/30 2021 – Ebro 0 – 5 Celta Vigo
LaLiga
11/27 2021 – Deportivo Alaves 1 – 2 Celta Vigo
11/20 2021 – Celta Vigo 1 – 1 FC Villarreal
11/06 2021 – Celta Vigo 3 – 3 Barcelona
Mallorca – Celta Vigo Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
Head to head: 13 – 9 – 14
There have been a total of 36 meetings between the two teams and the record is pretty even. Most recently, however, the clash has mostly been in the hands of the Bermellones, who are currently unbeaten in six meetings with the Galicians and won their last home match 5-1 on 30 June 2020
Mallorca – Celta Vigo Tip
For Mallorca against Celta Vigo, the prediction has to take into account that both teams have struggled to win so far. The Mallorcans have failed to win 11 of their last 13 matches and have drawn five of their last seven league games. This compares to the visitors from Galicia, who have only won one of their last six league games (three draws, two defeats).
With the Celestes also travelling without their top scorer Iago Aspas, there is a lot to be said for a low-scoring game in which a 0:0 or 1:1 draw is a red-hot tip.
