La Liga: Athletic Bilbao vs. Mallorca

Posted on | May 24, 2007 | No Comments

This could be Athletic Bilbao’s last train out of trouble. Just one point above the drop zone and without a win in five matches, Athletic could well see themselves playing second division football for the first time in their history next season. After this game they face an in form Villarreal away from home and then finish the season to fellow strugglers Levante. They really need at least three points to stand any chance of saving themselves and Mallorca could be their best bet. Last week Athletic showed that they had the bottle for a fight when they narrowly lost away to high flying Zaragoza. They clawed their way back from four one down by scoring two late goals and were unlucky not to earn a point. But that really says it all about the season they are having. Now they have serious problems in defence with all their first team layers out through injury and suspensions. They have leaked a whopping twenty goals in their last eight matches and one has the suspicion that come Sunday Mallorca could add a couple more to that tally.
As for Mallorca, Valencia cut short their impressive run of four consecutive victories with a late winner last week, and they are trying not to let this ruin their plans of finishing as high as possible. Currently Mallorca are in eleventh place and six points from UEFA, but any chance of European competition next season has all but disappeared. What they do want, however, is to finish the season on a high as this is the first year in quite a while where they aren’t battling for survival. This match could also be their ultimate opportunity of gaining three points, because in the last two games of the current campaign they take on in form Sevilla and Real Madrid.
I fancy Mallorca’s chances in this game. In their last two visits they have earned two draws, and their players are still focused and playing well. Keep an eye out for Venezuelan play maker Juan Fernando Arango who is having a great season, and Argentinean midfielder Ibagaza.
Prediction: Away win (0-2)

Related posts:

1. La Liga: Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona
2. La Liga: Athletic Bilbao vs. Levante
3. La Liga: Zaragoza vs. Athletic Bilbao
4. La Liga: Mallorca vs. Sevilla
5. La Liga: Athletico Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao

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