Barcelona will move up to second in La Liga with a victory over Mallorca on Friday night.
Many questioned how Barca would respond to the news of Xavi’s exit at the end of the season, with the Catalans enjoying an unbeaten run in the wake of the announcement. The performances, outside of the 4-0 thrashing of Getafe, haven’t been particularly convincing, but they can’t be ruled out of title contention just yet.
Barcelona are eight points adrift of leaders Real Madrid with the pair set to face off in the capital next month.
Xavi’s side must continue to win if they’re to stay in the hunt, however, and they’ve got a tricky contest upcoming against a rigid Mallorca outfit that are safe from relegation and recently progressed into the Copa del Rey final. Having worked wonders at Osasuna at the start of the century, Javier Aguirre is weaving his wand once more in Mallorca.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Barca’s Friday night La Liga fixture.
Barcelona vs Mallorca H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (all competitions)
|
Barcelona |
Mallorca |
|---|---|
|
Athletic Club 0-0 Barcelona – 03/03/24 |
Mallorca 1-0 Girona – 03/03/24 |
|
Barcelona 4-0 Getafe – 24/02/24 |
Real Sociedad 1-1 (4-5p) Mallorca – 27/02/24 |
|
Napoli 1-1 Barcelona – 21/02/24 |
Deportivo Alaves 1-1 Mallorca – 24/02/24 |
|
Celta Vigo 1-2 Barcelona – 17/02/24 |
Mallorca 1-2 Real Sociedad – 18/02/24 |
|
Barcelona 3-3 Granada – 11/02/24 |
Mallorca 2-1 Rayo Vallecano – 11/02/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Viaplay UK, LaLigaTV, Viaplay Sports 1 |
|
United States |
ESPN+, ESPN Deportes |
|
Canada |
TSN+ |
Ronald Araujo picked up his fifth La Liga yellow card of the season at Athletic Club last weekend and is suspended for Friday’s game. Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi should start at centre-back.
Pedri and Frenkie de Jong picked up long-term injuries at San Mames, with the pair joining an already lengthy injury list. Gavi, Marcos Alonso and Alejandro Balde are all long-term absentees.
Ferran Torres has missed the previous month with a thigh injury but could return to the squad on Friday night.
Barca predicted lineup vs Mallorca (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Cancelo; Christense, Fermin, Gundogan; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Felix.
The visitors have few concerns on the injury front, but Aguirre will be without Omar Mascarell, who was sent off in Mallorca’s La Liga defeat to Real Sociedad.
Pablo Maffeo will miss out with a knee injury.
Mallorca predicted lineup vs Barca (5-4-1): Rajkovic; Gonzalez, Valjent, Raillo, Nastasic, Costa; Sanchez, Samu, Darder, Rodriguez; Muriqi.
Barca were forced to come from behind in the reverse fixture to snatch a point and this Mallorca side could give the hosts similar issues on Friday night.
The visitors will be compact and aim to frustrate Xavi’s side with a litany of dark arts. Barca are without a host of stars and their midfield balance could be off as a result. Not to mention that the suspended Xavi won’t be on the sidelines.
Teams have little to fear when travelling to the Olympic Stadium and this tactically impressive Mallorca side could be the latest to earn a point in Catalonia.
