Espanyol vs. Mallorca
Sergi Darder returns to his former club as Mallorca’s newly elected fourth captain, where he once wore the armband himself, while his new team is fighting against relegation in 18th place with only one point. On Monday evening, two teams with completely different starts to the season will face each other at the RCDE Stadium: Espanyol sits in sixth place with seven points and recently celebrated a narrow 1-0 win against Osasuna, while the Balearic Islands suffered a 2-1 defeat at Real Madrid despite an early lead from Muriqi. Manolo González has stabilized his team nicely after their promotion, while Jagoba Arrasate’s team is struggling, especially since Dani Rodríguez was recently stripped of the captaincy for criticizing the coach. The recent record between the two teams clearly favors the Catalans: Espanyol has won three of the last five encounters and scored in all of them, while Mallorca has always conceded at least one goal, even though the last meeting in March ended in a 2-1 away win for the visitors.
- Venue: RCDE Stadium, Cornella de Llobregat
- Date and time: 09/15/2025, 9:00 p.m.
- Competition: Primera División (Matchday 4)
Espanyol form & record check
Espanyol has made a remarkably strong start to the season and is in 6th place in the table with seven points after three matchdays, which, with two wins and one draw, is already a significant improvement on last season’s mixed results. The 2-1 opening win against Atlético Madrid was a statement that no one would have necessarily expected from the Catalans before the start of the season, followed by a deserved 2-2 draw at Real Sociedad. Particularly impressive was the recent 1-0 win against Osasuna in front of their home crowd, with Carlos Romero scoring the decisive goal in the 52nd minute and the defense confidently holding on to the narrow lead. They have scored in four of their five games, with Pere Milla developing into an important pillar in attack, while the defense looks more stable than in the past. Just one point behind Barcelona and level on points with Alavés, Espanyol are in a comfortable position, underlined by a positive goal difference of plus two.
Espanyol are likely to line up in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation. Dmitrovic will be in goal, while El Hilali, Calero, Cabrera, and Carlos Romero are expected to form the back four. Pol Lozano and Expósito could stabilize the center of the defensive midfield. Dolan, Pere Milla, and Javi Puado are the likely candidates for the attacking trio, with Kike García leading the line. The only absentee is Javi Hernández, who is still out with a metatarsal fracture and whose return remains uncertain. Otherwise, Manolo González has a full squad at his disposal.
Mallorca Form & Record Check
RCD Mallorca are in a worrying state at the start of the season: with just one point from three games, the club are 18th in the table, having conceded at least one goal in four of their last five games. The season opener ended in a heavy 3-0 home defeat to Barcelona, followed by a meager 1-1 draw with Celta Vigo, and in their recent 2-1 defeat at Real Madrid, the Mallorcans squandered their early lead through Muriqi within a minute, conceding two quick goals. They have yet to win a single game at halftime or after 90 minutes this season, highlighting the team’s problems in dominating games or maintaining a consistent lead. Coach Jagoba Arrasate also has to deal with internal tensions after Dani Rodríguez lost the captaincy and Sergi Darder was elected as the new fourth captain. The situation is exacerbated by the minimal gap between Mallorca and its direct rivals, with only one point separating Mallorca from Real Sociedad above and just one point from Levante below, meaning that even small successes or further setbacks could drastically change the table position.
Jagoba Arrasate is expected to go into the game with his tried-and-tested 5-3-2 system. Leo Román will be in goal, while the back five could consist of Morey, Valjent, Raíllo, Kumbulla, and Lato. In midfield, Darder, Morlanes, and Torre are planned as the central axis. It will be interesting to see how the newly appointed fourth captain Darder performs against his former club. Mateo Joseph and Muriqi could share the striker roles. Arrasate currently has no major injuries to contend with, so he has a full squad to choose from.
H2H Espanyol – Mallorca Head-to-head & statistics
The head-to-head record of the last five encounters clearly favors Espanyol: the Catalans have won three of the five duels, while Mallorca has only managed one victory, supplemented by a draw. However, the most recent encounter in March 2025 went to the Balearic Islands, who won 2-1 away, after Espanyol had previously won 2-1 at home in October 2024. Interestingly, four of the last five games ended with exactly this result. A clear pattern emerges in the accuracy of both teams: Espanyol scored in all five encounters, while Mallorca scored at least one goal in four of the five games. The first half is often uneventful between these teams, with less than two goals scored at halftime in four of the last five games, with the decisions usually being made after the break, when both teams play more offensively and the games pick up pace.
While the bookmakers consider Espanyol to be slight favorites at odds of 2.10, the data suggests a more significant gap: The visitors have failed to score in four of their last five games and are still waiting for their first win of the season, while Espanyol have won three of their last four league games and have Pere Milla in their ranks, who has already scored three goals in four games. The recommendation of “under 2.5 goals” at 1.63 is based on Espanyol’s solid defensive performance at home, where they have conceded only one goal in their last three games, combined with Mallorca’s glaring weakness in attack. The home win at 2.10 offers good value, especially as Mallorca have conceded at least two goals in 80% of their games so far. For those willing to take a risk, “Over 3.5 goals” at 4.40 could be tempting if Mallorca’s shaky defense is broken down early on and the game gains momentum as a result.
