Burgos will be hoping to make the most of their home-ground advantage when they take on La Liga outfit Mallorca in the Round of 32 of the Copa del Rey on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts are currently in 11th place in the Segunda Division with 30 points after 21 matches, while the visitors are 14th in the top flight with 18 points in 19 league games.

Match preview

Burgos have been the epitome of inconsistency in the second tier this season and are yet to win two consecutive league games with 21 matches already in the rearview mirror.

However, while most of their early-season results alternated between wins and losses, Matagigantes have managed to improve as the season has progressed and come into this match unbeaten in their last seven league games, including four draws and three wins.

During that time, Bolo's side also overcame Arenteiro 3-1 in the second round of this competition, which came about a month after they beat Hercules as underdogs in the opening round.

Still, despite their uptick in performance lately, the hosts face a huge step up in class of opponent here and are likely to find themselves playing on the counterattack for large periods in this match, although that could suit them with Mallorca being far from prolific in front of goal so far this term.

Mallorca have only found the net 17 times in 19 La Liga matches this season, which is the second-lowest tally in the top flight, with only relegation candidate Cadiz posting a worse return over the same period.

That has played a major part in their drop-off this season, as they are currently just five points above the drop zone after finishing last season in the top half of the table with an impressive return of 50 points.

The Pirates suffered a torrid run of results between mid-September and the start of December when they failed to win a single one of their 10 league games during that period, until finally finding a much-needed victory against Sevilla on December 9.

Nevertheless, Mallorca's Copa del Rey campaign has been much more promising so far as they breezed through the first two rounds, beating Boiro 4-0 back in November and overcoming Valle Egues 3-0 at the start of last month.

The visitors also have a crucial bottom-half battle against Celta Vigo lined up next week and will want to secure another positive result here to help them regain momentum after falling 1-0 to Real Madrid in their first match of the New Year in midweek.

Team News

Burgos are missing a few important players heading into this match, but their biggest miss will arguably be Grego Sierra, who is suspended for this match due to an accumulation of yellows.

Esteban Saveljich is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season with a ruptured cruciate ligament, and Fer Nino has been flagged as a doubt as he continues to work back to full fitness following a spell on the sideline.

The visitors also have a player suspended for this match, with Matija Nastasic set to miss out also for an accumulation of yellow cards in the first half of the season.

Martin Valjent is still recovering from knee surgery and is likely to remain on the sidelines until the end of the month, while there are question marks over the fitness of Vedat Muriqi, who has been struggling with an ankle injury.

Burgos possible starting lineup:
Churripi; Navarro, Cordoba, Elgezabal, Martin, Gonzalez; Curro, Atienza, Appin, Bermejo; Espiau

Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Cuellar; Gonzalez, Copete, Raillo; Llabres, Morlanes, Maffeo, Van der Heyden; Rodriguez, Larin, Abdon

We say: Burgos 0-2 Mallorca

Mallorca are likely to rotate their squad for this one but should have more than enough depth in their squad to secure another comfortable win in this competition. They have already eased past two lower-division sides without conceding in the last two rounds, and we fancy them to shut out this opponent as well.


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