An in-form Las Palmas will be aiming to make it five wins from their last six matches in all competitions when they continue their La Liga campaign at home to Mallorca on Saturday night.
Diego Martinez's side are currently 16th in the La Liga table, boasting 12 points from their opening 13 matches, while Mallorca have recently dropped to ninth following back-to-back defeats, with the team collecting 18 points from their first 13 games of the campaign.
Match preview
© Imago
Martinez has had an incredible start to his tenure at Las Palmas, winning four of his five matches in charge, with the Spaniard being appointed as a replacement for Luis Carrion towards the start of October.
Few would have predicted such a strong opening to his career at Las Palmas, but Pio Pio have been in excellent form since the October international break, winning four of their five matches in all competitions.
In La Liga, Los Amarillos have overcome Valencia, Girona and Rayo Vallecano, while they also progressed to the next stage of the Copa del Rey courtesy of a 7-0 success over Ontinena, with their only defeat under their new manager proving to be a 2-0 reverse to Atletico Madrid at the start of November.
Las Palmas currently sit 16th in the La Liga table, boasting a record of three wins, three draws and seven defeats from 13 matches, and they are two points clear of 18th-placed Espanyol.
There is still a lot of work to do if Pio Pio are to stay clear of the relegation zone, but there have been so many positives under Martinez, with the 43-year-old appearing to be the perfect fit for the club.
© Imago
Mallorca, meanwhile, are struggling for a bit of form at the moment, picking up just one point from their last three matches, drawing with Athletic Bilbao before losing to Alaves and Atletico Madrid.
Successive defeats have seen Jagoba Arrasate's side drop down to ninth spot in the table, boasting a record of five wins, three draws and five defeats from 15 matches this term to collect 18 points.
Mallorca are only three points behind fifth-placed Osasuna, though, so they could find themselves in a European spot again relatively quickly, and the Pirates will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins over Las Palmas, having recorded a 1-0 victory when the two teams last locked horns towards the end of last season.
Arrasate's team boast the sixth-best away record in La Liga this season, picking up nine points from six matches, and they will be heading to a Las Palmas side that only have six points to show from their six games in front of their own fans.
Mallorca will be wary of suffering a third straight league defeat this weekend, and a positive result on Saturday would lead them nicely into back-to-back home fixtures with Valencia and Barcelona.
Team News
© Imago
Las Palmas will have to make checks on the fitness of Marvin Park, Adnan Januzaj and Enzo Loiodice before it is determined whether Martinez has a fully-fit squad to choose from this weekend.
The new head coach will have been delighted with his team's performance away to Rayo Vallecano last time out, so it would not be a surprise to see the same XI take to the field for the first whistle here.
There could be a change in the final third of the field, though, with Manu Fuster's goal off the bench in the team's last game before the international break potentially earning him a spot in the XI.
As for Mallorca, Pablo Maffeo, Abdon Prats, Toni Lato and Valery are all out of the contest through injury, while Ivan Cuellar and Takuma Asano are doubts here.
Dani Rodriguez and Antonio Sanchez could potentially both come into the XI following the defeat to Atletico last time out, but Vedat Muriqi and Cyle Larin are set to continue in the final third of the field.
The pair only have three La Liga goals between them this season, and Arrasate will be hoping that the duo can find their shooting boots in the clash with an in-form Las Palmas.
Las Palmas possible starting lineup:
Cillessen; Rozada, Suarez, McKenna, A Munoz; J Munoz, K Rodriguez, Essugo; Fuster, Silva, Moleiro
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Greif; Sanchez, Valjent, Raillo, Mojica; D Rodriguez, Morlanes, Costa, Darder; Larin, Muriqi
We say: Las Palmas 1-1 Mallorca
The corresponding match during the 2023-24 campaign finished in a 1-1 draw, and we can see the same scoreline here; Las Palmas are winning a lot of games at the moment, but Mallorca are good enough to secure a share of the spoils on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
