Mallorca vs Celta Vigo Prediction 23.08.2025 | LaLiga

Despite entering the season opener eager to prove themselves against the reigning champions, Mallorca, reduced to nine men, were left stunned as they suffered a harsh 3-0 defeat to a ruthlessly attacking Barcelona in front of a packed Son Moix.

The defeat could have been even harsher for the Balearic side, but they managed to contain the Catalan giants to just three goals, and with a second consecutive home fixture on the horizon, they will be aiming for a much-improved performance in the hunt for their first points.

Last term, Los Piratas narrowly missed out on a top-eight finish and European football by just four points, ending the season in 10th place with 48 points, so they cannot afford another home slip-up if they want to challenge for the upper echelons of LaLiga again.

Mallorca head coach Jagoba Arrasate can breathe easier on the injury front, but suspensions to Manu Morlanes and leading striker Vedat Muriqi mean at least two alterations are unavoidable.

Celta de Vigo mirrored the struggles of their Saturday opponents as they kicked off the 2025-26 LaLiga season on the wrong foot, falling 2-0 to an inspired Getafe team, much to the dismay of their supporters and the ire of their manager after a poor showing.

With a packed calendar of Europa League fixtures looming from September onwards following last season’s seventh-place finish, Los Celestes must recover quickly from their shaky start to regain confidence and drive a strong run of form.

Under the guidance of Claudio Giraldez, the team will head into the new season confident of securing their first points, having shown resilience on their travels and only succumbing to the Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid across their last eight LaLiga away trips.

Even after his harsh criticism of the team following last week’s heavy loss to Getafe, Giraldez is likely to stick with the same starting eleven, with Carl Starfelt the only absentee as he remains sidelined for another month.