Muriqi comeback after two-month absence

Mallorca lie in 15th place while Betis are ninth. The visitors are one of the most charismatic sides in Spanish football and their fans the most vibrant. The Palma side go into this tricky game hopefully with all their squad available, with the exception of right-back Pablo Maffeo who’s out for three months after keyhole knee surgery.

Our coach Javier Aguirre’s defensive tactics are not to everyone’s taste but the object is clear – keep a clean sheet. Mallorca lie five points above the relegation bottom three and our prime objective is to stay in top flight Spanish football for another season. With that in mind, we’ve become the draw specialists in La Liga with 11 (Betis are second on nine). Not only that, we’re only surpassed in Europe by Udinese in Italy with 12. In La Liga, Mallorca have a winning problem at home, after ten games we’ve only won twice, lost one (which was the first game at home to Villareal 0-1) and drawn seven.

Most of our home goals have come in the first half, and we’ve only scored one in the second period, when we beat Osasuna before Christmas. Until last Saturday, the players who come off the bench haven’t done the business, especially Senegal player Amath who’s wasted every opportunity that Aguirre has given him. Last Saturday local boy Javi Llabres came on with only minutes remaining to score the equaliser when all seemed lost. When he scored, Llabres became the ONLY Mallorca substitute to score so far this season.

The best news from the Betis match is the return of Kosovan striker Vedat Muriqi, who made a second half appearance in Wednesday’s Cup match. As expected, “El Pirata” is far from match fit, but his input in the Cup match was 100%. His return to action comes 67 days after being injured playing for his country. His reappearance comes at a time when at long last our other striker Cyle Larin had begun to score goals – albeit he still misses a lot more. Muriqi’s comeback will be progressively managed until he returns to full match fitness and he returns to his status as an undisputed starter.

As stipulated by FIFA, whenever a player suffers injury that exceeds 28 days of inactivity with his club, FIFA undertakes to pay that player’s club an amount of 20,548€ for each day the player is absent. So Mallorca has the right to claim a total amount of 1,376,716 euros for the player’s injury. Loose change for some of today’s top players.

Betis come to Palma in the top half of the league and are now the in-form side in Seville as Sevilla struggle to stay in La Liga. One of the best-supported teams in Spanish football, they’re sure to have a lot of fans in Son Moix tomorrow as many “Beticos” live on the island.

One of their standout players is the quick, skilful and creative midfielder, Isco. He’s also surely one of the best dribblers around and looks a certainty to resurrect his Spanish national selection career this Summer in the Euros in Germany. In charge of Betis is much-travelled 70-year-old Chilean Manuel Pellegrini. In a chequered coaching career he’s been in charge at Villareal, Real Madrid, Malaga (where he even has a roundabout named after him !), Manchester City and West Ham United, amongst others.

A couple of years ago, Mallorca had a youth player called Luka Romero, who left these shores in 2021 to hopefully improve his career at a better club in Italy. He made his initiation for us against Real Madrid, becoming the youngest player in history at 15 years 219 days to play in the First Division.

Luka, born in Mexico but with Spanish/Argentinian nationality, left in 2021 for Lazio where he stayed until 2023. There he played 14 Serie A games, scoring just one goal. This season he moved to AC Milan where he has only played 84 minutes since August. After making all the headlines as one for the future etc., Luka finds himself loaned out to La Liga’s doomed bottom club Almeria. Sometimes in life you don’t always get what you wish for.

AND FINALLY

A man was sitting quietly reading when his wife walked up behind him and whacked him over the head with a magazine. “What was that for?” he asked. “That was for the piece of paper in your trouser pocket with the name ‘Sweet Caroline’ written on it.” He said “Listen, sweet cheeks, two weeks ago when I went to the races, Sweet Caroline ws the name of the favourite in the 2:10 at Kempton Park. It won, so I ought you those flowers with the winnings.” She replied “Sorry babe, I should have known there’d be a good explanation.” Three days later he was watching TV when she walked up and hit him over the head again, this time with a frying pan. When he came to, he asked “What the hell did you do that for?” She said “Your horse rang!!!”