Mallorca v Valencia: 4/1 Pepelu looks card gold | OneFootball

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Pepelu has been carded in five of his 10 La Liga games this season

Andy Schooler believes he's found some value in the card markets ahead of Friday night's game in La Liga...

Mallorca v ValenciaFriday 29 November, 20:00Live on LaLigaTV & Premier Player

They love a card in Spain and immediately there's a price which stands out ahead of Friday night's La Liga game.

Leg 1: Pepelu to be shown a card

Valencia midfielder Pepelu has been carded in five of his 10 league games so far this season yet is available at 4/1 for another here.

OK, I've no doubt some of you will point to the small sample size here. Others with more knowledge will highlight the fact that Pepelu was carded only five times last season.

That latter stat appears to be the reason behind his odds but the fact is last season was the outlier, not the current one.

Pepelu, who earned a call up to the Spanish national squad in September, was a card regular in his Levante days, being booked nine times in 29 games when they went down in 2021/22. The following season, in the Segunda Division, he received 12 cards in 43 appearances.

Throw in the referee - Alejandro Quintero Gonzalez - and we have ourselves a bet.

The official is averaging just under six cards per game so far this season having been promoted out of the second tier in the summer. Last season he posted similarly high numbers.

Leg 2: Over 4.5 cards

With Quintero Gonzalez in charge, I also like the look of over 4.5 cards at around even money.

Since the start of last season, that's occurred in 20 of his 30 league appointments.

Mallorca have seen at least five cards in seven of their last eight La Liga matches, while five of Valencia's last seven have also delivered.

Finally, five of the last seven matches between these two sides have also gone over 4.5 cards.

The double pays around 13/2 but I also can't resist an even bigger punt given the presence of Samu Costa in the hosts' midfield.

He's the joint leader for cards in La Liga this season with six, with Costa having been carded in five of his last nine outings.

Again, that's not breaking any trend - Costa was booked eight times last season and hit double figures in the second tier in both 2021/22 and 2020/21, collecting a massive 15 cards in the second of those campaigns.

In addition, only five players in the entire league have committed more fouls so far this term.

The Costa-Pepelu card double pays 14/1 - I'll put half of the stake on that and half on the other suggested bet.

Recommended bets

Back Pepelu to be shown a card & over 4.5 cards @ around 13/2Back Pepelu & Samu Costa both to be shown a card @ around 14/1

Column P/L 2024/25

Staked: 137pts Returned: 157.93pts P/L: +20.93pts

2023/24 P/L: +16.78pts 2022/23 P/L: +68.69pts