Villarreal CF want to get a win at Son Moix to stay in the Champions League positions (Saturday, 2pm CEST)
Villarreal CF are back in action after the international break, visiting Son Moix, the home stadium of RCD Mallorca, on Matchday 5 of the 2024/25 EA Sports season, on Saturday at 2pm CEST.
After a great start to the season, with the team in fourth place in the table after two draws and two wins, the Yellow Submarine want to take all three points from the Balearic Islands with the aim of staying in the Champions League qualification places. Marcelino will be without midfielder Pape Gueye, who was sent off for a double yellow card in last week’s Valencian derby, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
They face a Mallorca side with a new head coach, Jagoba Arrasate, who have started the season with a narrow 1-0 win over Leganés last time out, two draws at home to Real Madrid (1-1) and Sevilla (0-0), and a 1-0 loss to Osasuna. They are in tenth place in the league table, with a total of five points, three less than the Groguets.
One particularity of this clash is the disparity between the two teams in the goals scored in the first four matchdays of the championship. On the one hand, Villarreal CF is the team with the third most goals scored in the league, nine, and, tied with Osasuna, Las Palmas and Valencia, with the most goals conceded, seven; while Mallorca is the team with the second fewest goals scored and conceded in the league, with a total of two in both cases.
The record between Mallorca and Villarreal is very even. In the last four seasons that the Mallorcan side have played in the first division, the meetings between the two sides have ended in three wins for Mallorca, two draws and another three victories for the Yellow Submarine.
Referee
Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea is the main referee for the match, with Carlos del Cerro Grande on VAR.
