Barcelona vs Mallorca

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys forms the backdrop for a ‘David vs Goliath’ La Liga clash between Barcelona and Mallorca.

Barcelona’s dress rehearsal for their crunch Champions League meeting with Napoli pits them against a Mallorca side they’ve not lost to in La Liga action since 2008. However, after 11 consecutive H2H league wins, the Catalans had to settle for a 2-2 draw in September’s reverse fixture. They’ll be desperate to get back in the win column after a scoreless stalemate at Athletic Bilbao last weekend saw them waste a glorious opportunity to whittle down an eight-point deficit on table-topping Real Madrid. As if that wasn’t troubling enough, Xavi Hernandez lost Pedri and Frenkie de Jong to injuries, derailing their chances of extending a seven-game unbeaten streak across all competitions (W4, D3). Playing at home should help, yet the Blaugrana have blown hot and cold across their four La Liga outings in Catalonia this calendar year (W2, D1, L1).

On the other hand, Mallorca fought bravely in a stunning 1-0 home win against runners-up Girona last weekend, halting a two-game winless league streak (D1, L1) while registering their first clean sheet in La Liga since mid-December. Manager Javier Aguirre must have been pleased with his side’s effort in that match, especially as it helped Los Piratas move eight points clear of the bottom three. But it’s never a good time for Mallorca to leave their home setting, considering they’ve only won once on their 13 La Liga travels this season (D5, L7). A lack of firepower up front plagued their away performances, with the visitors averaging just 0.84 goals per league trip. That’s particularly concerning because they’ve lost three of their last five top-flight visits to Barcelona by 3+ goals ‘to nil.’