Match Pack: Athletic Club vs RCD Mallorca (LaLiga MD1)

Pre-season is now over and Athletic Club kick off their LaLiga 2022/23 campaign with a home fixture against RCD Mallorca. With new faces on the board and in the technical department, as well as the return of some familiar faces in the dugout, these are exciting times for Los Leones as they head in to the new season.

Los Rojiblancos performed consistently during their warm-up matches and boss Ernesto Valverde, back in the hot seat at Athletic for a third time, will want the lads to carry that form into LaLiga Santander.

Match Info
Athletic Club vs Real Mallorca (Matchday 1)

San Mamés (Bilbao)

LaLiga Santander 22-23

Monday August 15, 17:30 CEST

How to Watch

We’ve put together a list of TV channels and kick-off times around the world to help make sure you don’t miss the match!

Team News
Squad list: Athletic Club vs RCD Mallorca (Matchday 1):

Unai Simón, Iru, Padilla, Morcillo, Vivian, Yeray, Vesga, Berenguer, O. Sancet, I. Williams, Muniain, N. Williams, Guruzeta, Dani García, I. Lekue, Vencedor, Yuri B., De Marcos, Zarraga, Villalibre, Capa, Raúl García, Nolaskoain, Luis Bilbao, Malcom, Paredes. 

Valverde's Comments

Find out more about what he had to say during his pre-match press conference.

The Opponents

Founded in 1916, RCD Mallorca are the oldest football club on the Balearic Islands. They are heading into a 29th season in the top-flight. Mallorca's longest uninterrupted spell in LaLiga came between 1997/98 and 2012/13, with Los Bermellones recording two fifth-place and two third-places finishes in that time, the latter allowing them to qualify for the Champions League.

In 1998/99, the Balearic Islanders also reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, losing 1-2 to SS Lazio. However, Mallorca's greatest triumph came in 2002/03 when they beat Recreativo Huelva 0-3 in the final of the Copa del Rey.

Head coach: Javier Aguirre

Known as 'El Vasco' due to his Basque heritage, the Mexican coach is an experienced operator at the highest level. Aguirre has managed extensively in his home country, LaLiga (Osasuna, Atlético Madrid, Zaragoza, Espanyol and Leganés) and internationally (Mexico, Japan and Egypt).

He took over at the Visit Mallorca Estadi in March last season, leading the side to safety with four wins and a draw from their final 10 fixtures.

New signings: Much of the Balearic Islanders summer business has consisted in keeping players who were on loan last season, including: Vedat Muriqi (striker, from SS Lazio), Pablo Maffeo (right-back, from VfB Stuttgart) and Rodrigo Battaglia (midfielder, from Sporting CP).

In addition to making those moves permanent, Aguirre has brought in Pedrag Rajkovic (goalkeeper, from Stade Reims) and José Copete (centre-back, from Ponferradina).

Pre-season: Aguirre's side have produced some noteworthy results in the lead-up to LaLiga, going unbeaten in all their warm-up matches: 3-0 vs Wiecztya Krakow, 1-0 vs Genoa, 1-0 vs Sporting Gijón, 1-1 vs Napoli and 0-0 (pens: 6-5) vs UD Ibiza.

Previous Meetings
Since their first LaLiga meeting back in 1960/61, RCD Mallorca and Athletic Club have played each other a total of 58 times in the top-flight, with Los Rojiblancos picking up 28 wins, 13 draws and 17 losses.

The Lions have a particularly strong record against our visitors at The Cathedral. Out of 29 matches, Athletic have won 21, drawn three and lost five.

The five most recent encounters confirm that San Mamés is a tough away day for Mallorca, with Athletic not dropping a point against the Balearic Islanders.

The Lions won 2-0 in last season's edition of this fixture. Centre-back Dani Vivian headed in Athletic's opener in the 68th minute, his first LaLiga goal, while Iñaki Williams sealed the deal with a scruffy finish after some great closing down by Iker Muniain.