Barcelona vs Mallorca Preview

La Liga resumes this Friday as Barcelona host Mallorca in the 28th Round of the 2023/24 season.

Barcelona’s season continued to unravel last weekend as they were held to a goalless draw against Athletic Bilbao while losing both Pedri and Frankie de Jong to long-term injuries during the game.

The draw on Sunday was the tenth time they’ve dropped points in La Liga this season leaving them eight points behind league leaders Real Madrid. Hopes of an unlikely La Liga win this season are fading with every dropped point and despite Madrid’s patchy form, most Barca fans have lost hope that their side can still win the title.

Yet they will be desperate for their side to bounce back here and take maximum points against Mallorca. Doing so will reduce the lead at the top to five points, albeit temporarily and help extend Barca’s unbeaten streak to eight games (W4, D3) ahead of a crucial Champions League last 16 second leg tie against Napoli.

That said, Xavi’s men haven’t been firing on all cylinders at home with the hosts winning only three of their last six La Liga encounters at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (D1, L2) and conceding 14 goals in that sequence. However, two clean sheets in the last three matches of that run suggest that their defencive woes may have largely been addressed.

Mallorca meanwhile will be desperate to make it back-to-back wins in the league for the first time this season when they face Barcelona on Friday night. The visitors secured a hugely impressive 1-0 win over second-placed Girona at the weekend to take them eight points clear of the relegation zone.

That win, and a Copa del Rey semi-final triumph over Real Sociedad have also proven that Mallorca can’t be taken lightly so the visitors can be backed to cause an upset here.

Also, with seven points won from four La Liga games (W2, D1, L1), the Balearic can be confident of avoiding defeat against a Barca side they held to a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture. However, Mallorca are poor travellers and are winless in ten away league matches (D4, L6) making the prospect of a first top-flight H2H victory on the road since May 2008 seem unlikely.

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Spanish Primera Liga:

Spanish Primera Liga Table