Sevilla will be looking to strengthen their grip on a top-four position in La Liga when they welcome relegation-threatened Mallorca to the Estadio Ramon on Sunday night.
The home side are currently fourth in the table, level on points with third-placed Atletico Madrid, while Mallorca occupy 18th, three points behind 17th-placed Alaves.
Match preview
© Reuters
Sevilla continued their impressive run of form in Spain's top flight with a 2-1 success at Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, which made it nine points from their last three matches.
Julen Lopetegui's side are unbeaten in the league since the start of February, while they have won four and drawn four of their eight matches since returning to action after the lockdown period.
Sevilla's lead over fifth-placed Villarreal is six points, meaning that it is incredibly difficult to imagine the team dropping out of the Champions League positions at this stage of the campaign.
Los Nervionenses are level on points with third-placed Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, and will certainly have their eyes on the position directly behind Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Not since 2008-09 have Sevilla claimed third position in La Liga, but an impressive season has left them in the mix ahead of their final three games against Mallorca, Real Sociedad and Valencia.
© Reuters
Mallorca, on the other hand, are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the division.
Los Bermellones looked to be gone when they lost at Athletic Bilbao on June 27, but they have won two of their last three matches, including a huge 2-0 home success over Levante on Thursday night.
The result moved Mallorca onto 32 points, leaving them three points behind 17th-placed Alaves, who have an incredibly difficult game away to the leaders Real Madrid on Friday night.
Vicente Moreno's side secured a return to this level by advancing through the Segunda Division playoffs last term, and it would be an excellent achievement if they could finish above the bottom three.
Mallorca have the worst away record in the league this season, though, picking up just one win and five points from their 17 matches, which will not fill their supporters with too much confidence.
Sevilla La Liga form: DDDWWW
Mallorca La Liga form: DLLWLW
Team News
© Reuters
Sevilla are again expected to be without the services of first-choice goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik due to a knee problem, meaning that Yassine Bounou is likely to continue between the sticks.
The hosts are otherwise in excellent shape, though, with Lopetegui having a number of difficult decisions to make when it comes to team selection for this game.
Munir El Haddadi, Fernando and Luuk de Jong could all return to the XI following the Athletic clash, although Joan Jordan and Ever Banega should keep their spots in midfield.
As for Mallorca, Lumor Agbenyenu, Marc Pedraza and Leonardo Koutris are all still on the sidelines through injury, but Moreno's team did not pick up any fresh issues against Levante.
It would not be a surprise to see the exact same XI take to the field for this match, although Junior Lago is one player who could be in Moreno's thoughts when it comes to potential change.
Ante Budimir has scored 12 La Liga goals for Mallorca this season, and the 28-year-old should lead the away side's line with support from Dani Rodriguez and Juan Hernandez.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Navas, Kounde, Carlos, Reguilon; Banega, Fernando, Jordan; Ocampos, De Jong, Munir
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Reina; Pozo, Valjent, Raillo, Gamez; Kubo, Mohammed, Sevilla, Hernandez; Rodriguez; Budimir
We say: Sevilla 2-0 Mallorca
Mallorca certainly have momentum at the moment, but it is incredibly difficult to back the visitors to win this match taking everything into consideration. Sevilla have been excellent since returning to action last month, and we fancy Lopetegui's side to put another three points on the board here.
