Mallorca VS Cordoba

The single-elimination format of Spain's Copa del Rey always creates huge upset potential for lower-tier sides, who often find their openings when top-flight hosts get complacent and opt for heavy squad rotation. Mallorca, the La Liga side in this tie, hold a clear edge in squad market value, individual player quality and overall match rhythm. When playing at home, they prefer to build attacks gradually from the back, use overlapping runs from full-backs to stretch the opposition's defensive shape, and look to pounce on second balls in the box to generate shooting chances, with set pieces serving as one of their most reliable scoring outlets. It is worth noting that Mallorca are highly likely to make widespread squad changes in the early rounds of the cup. With key midfield and attacking players rested, the chemistry in their final-third link-up and finishing will inevitably drop. If they fail to break the deadlock after sustained periods of possession, they will leave themselves vulnerable to counter-attacks that exploit the space left behind their high defensive line.