Barcelona vs Mallorca Preview & Prediction | 2023-24 Spanish Primera
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THE FACTS
When is Barcelona vs Mallorca on and what time does it start? Barcelona vs Mallorca will take place on Friday 8th March, 2024 – 20:00 (UK)
Where can I get tickets for Barcelona vs Mallorca? Visit each club’s official website for the latest ticket information
What TV channel is Barcelona vs Mallorca on in the UK? Barcelona vs Mallorca will be televised live on LaLigaTV, but La Liga matches are also televised occasionally on Viaplay Sports and ITV
Where can I stream Barcelona vs Mallorca in the UK? Barcelona vs Mallorca can be streamed live on Viaplay, while ITV matches can be streamed live on ITVX
THE LOWDOWN
BARCELONA
It has already been announced that Xavi will be departing Barcelona at the end of the season and now the pressure is beginning to grow on the former Spain captain even more with the Blaugrana not absolutely certain of their place in the top four next season and in a delicately poised UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Napoli coming up in the week.
The Catalans come into this one on the back of a goalless draw up in the Basque Country at San Mames against Athletic Club but Barca lost key midfielders Pedri and Frenkie de Jong to injury in that game. They have been inconsistent throughout the campaign and extremely disjointed and lacklustre in attack on a regular basis.
MALLORCA
Mexican coach Javier Aguirre was coming under pressure in charge of the Balearic Islanders as they followed up last season’s mid-table finish by languishing in the relegation battle this time around but he and his players have most certainly eased a lot of the angst with some major results in the last couple of weeks.
After travelling to the mainland to defeat Real Sociedad on penalties in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey to reach the cup final where they will face Athletic Club at La Cartuja in Seville, Mallorca then edged past title challenging Girona by a goal to nil in Palma de Mallorca last weekend with a 33rd minute winner from Juan Manuel Copete.
THE TEAM NEWS
BARCELONA
As mentioned, both Pedri and Frenkie de Jong are out injured, whilst Ronald Araujo is missing through suspension with Ferran Torres also a doubt for this weekend.
PREDICTED XI (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Cancelo; Gundogan, Christensen, Romeu; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Joao Felix
UNAVAILABLE: Pedri (Injured), de Jong (Injured), Araujo (Suspended), Balde (Injured), Alonso (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE: Torres (Injured)
MALLORCA
Real Mallorca have two availability issues for this weekend with midfielder Omar Mascarell out suspended, whilst Pablo Maffeo is missing through injury.
PREDICTED XI (5-3-2): Rajkovic; Gonzalez, Valjent, Raillo, Copete, Lato; Sanchez, Costa, Rodriguez; Larin, Muriqi
UNAVAILABLE: Mascarell (Suspended), Maffeo (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
THE PREDICTION
Quite simply, you cannot trust Barcelona. It wouldn’t be a total shock to see the defending champions turn up on Friday evening, put on a show and hammer Mallorca but the more likely occurance is that they spend the entire game trying to break down a stubborn Aguirre-coached defence, eventually do in fairly unconvincing fashion and head into their European tie with Napoli with no real identity or idea of what they are doing.
TIP: BARCELONA TO WIN & UNDER 3.5 GOALS
