A Barcelona side that has lost their spot as the main La Liga title contenders this season to Girona, will be looking to get back that spot when they welcome a stubborn Mallorca side to their temporary home, the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, on Friday.
With just a point now separating them and 2nd placed Girona, Xavi’s side will be hoping a win over Mallorca would temporarily take them back to 2nd over their Catalonian counterparts before they play their game on Saturday.
Mallorca on the other hand have a very different objective going into this encounter as they look to continue extending the gap between them and the relegation zone from the 8 points that they have managed currently.
It will not be an easy task though as Mallorca face a Barcelona side that has improved somewhat from the team they were when the two teams played out a 2-2 draw last September.
Barca, the Most In-Form Team in La Liga at the Moment
Barcelona has improved greatly since their manager, Xavi Hernandez, announced his impending departure as Barca boss at the end of the season, winning four and drawing two of their last six league matches.
As a matter of fact, the Bulgranas are the most in-form team in La Liga currently as the only team to have won 11 points in their last 5 games and they will be eyeing another victory here before switching their attention to their UEFA Champions League 2nd leg clash with Napoli.
With rumours already surfacing that Xavi might stay beyond the season, the players know finishing the season very strong is a great way to further improve any chances of the Barcelona legend staying beyond the season.
Mallorca has bitten the Catalan Big Boys This Season
Javier Aguirre’s side may not be a mid-table team this season but they have not shown that when they played against the big sides in the league, especially the ones from Catalan in 2nd and 3rd on the La Liga table.
Mallorca have beaten Girona not once but twice, once in the Copa Del Rey, and the other in the second meeting between the sides in the league this season.
Aside from that, they made sure to take a point away from their meeting with Barcelona themselves when they faced them earlier this season and they will be hoping they can repeat that on Friday night.
Match Stats
- Barcelona are ranked 2nd in goals scored per match (2.1 goals) while Mallorca are ranked 18th in goals scored per match (0.9 goals) in the league.
- Barcelona haven't been beaten in their last 15 straight clashes with Real Mallorca in all competitions.
- Following their 2-2 draw at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix in the reverse fixture, Mallorca could avoid defeat in both with Barcelona in a La Liga season for the first time since 2000/01 under Luis Aragones (W1 D1).
- On average, Real Mallorca have allowed 1.69 goals in their most recent away games in La Liga.
You can check out the Barcelona vs Mallorca La Liga game on MSport here:
_large.jpg)
_large.jpg)