Match Pack: Athletic Club vs RCD Mallorca (LaLiga MD23)

Athletic Club vs RCD Mallorca will kick off LaLiga Matchday 23. The Lions return to LaLiga action with a tough fixture at San Mames. Ernesto Valverde's charges take on a difficult side as they look to get back to winning ways and give themselves a boost in the race for European football.

After two consecutive league games without a win, Los Rojiblancos will attempt to defeat the Balearic Islanders side before our Copa semi-final first leg against Atlético Madrid at the Metropolitano.

Match Info
Athletic Club vs RCD Mallorca

San Mames, Bilbao

LaLiga EA Sports 23/24 (Matchday 23)

Friday February 2, 21:00 CET

Tickets available here

How to Watch
A complete guide with kick-off times and LaLiga broadcasters around the world

Team News
Valverde named a 23-man squad for the clash in Bilbao.

Iñigo Lekue and Alex Berenguer are unavailable due to injury issues.

Valverde's Comments
Catch up with what he had to say at his pre-match press conference.

The Opponents

Head coach: Javier Aguirre

The experience Mexican tactitian - who is of Basque heritage - took over at RCD Mallorca towards the end of the 2021/22 campaign, keeping the side up with some good results. He followed that up with a ninth-placed finish last season.

From his 69 matches in charge, Aguirre has led Mallorca to 21 wins, 20 draws and 28 losses.

Top goalscorer: Abdón Prats

The 31-year-old forward is a product of RCD Mallorca's youth system. However, he rarely feature for the first team, leaving on loan for Burgos in 2013/14 before making a permanent move to Tenerife in 2014/15.

After that he had spells at Mirandés and Racing Santander before returning to Mallorca ahead of the 2017/18 campaign.

His goals proved crucial in helping Los Bermellones make successive promotions Segunda B to LaLiga and then get repromoted to the top-flight in 2020/21.

So far this season, he has netted five goals in 23 LaLiga appearances, already beating his previous best return of three goals in 23 matches.

Recent form: WLDDL

Currently in 15th place on 20 points - four points away from the drop zone - Mallorca have struggled to find their rhythm in 2023/24. No other side has drawn more times (11) than Aguirre's side.

Their most recent outing was a 0-1 home loss to Real Betis.

Previous Meetings
The first ever LaLiga clash between Athletic and RCD Mallorca was a 0-0 draw at the Lluis Sitjar back in the 1960/61 season.

In total we've met 61 times, with the Zurigorri registering 28 wins, 16 draws and 17 losses.

Athletic have a strong home record against the Balearic Islanders. Out of 30 encounters, the Lions have won 21, drawn four and lost five.

Los Leones are undefeated in Mallorca's last five visits to Bilbao. Stretching back to 2011/12, Athletic have drawn once and been victorious on the other four occasions.

Our most recent home win over Mallorca came in the 2021/22 campaign, with Dani Vivian and Iñaki Williams helping the Zurigorri to a 2-0 triumph in Bilbao.