Barcelona just endured a very difficult encounter at home against Celta Vigo. It was a shocking team display....until the 80th minute. Barcelona suddenly sprung to life and Celta conceded thrice in 8 minutes. It was a comeback performance that no one saw coming, and it's almost certain that such things were impossible 2 seasons ago, when the team was at rock bottom. Such winning mentality will be tested once more, as they travel to balearic islands.
Mallorca are a difficult team to beat at home and are one of the best in the league when it comes to low blocks. Their season has been wishy-washy, with their latest outing for ending in a comprehensive 5-3 defeat at Girona. They too also had a shocking first half display, like Barcelona, but put up a better performance in the second half to make the scoreline a bit more respectable. Now, they welcome the other Catalan side in the league and won't want the same outcome as a few days ago.
INTERESTING STATS
- Barcelona (2.7) are first in La Liga in terms of goals per game while Mallorca (1.7) are 15th.
- The home team have scored just seven goals in six outings.
- The Catalan giants have conceded just six goals in six games. Meanwhile, they have found the back of the net 13 times in their last three outings.
- Barcelona have scored at least twice in their last six games.
- Barcelona have taken the most number of shots on goal this season with 95 shots in six games.
- Barcelona are unbeaten against Mallorca in the last 14 encounters. They won the last 11.
Last five meetings (all La Liga)
28/5/23 Barça 3-0 Mallorca
1/10/22 Mallorca 0-1 Barça
01/05/22 Barça 2-1 Mallorca
02/01/22 Mallorca 0-1 Barça
13/06/20 Mallorca 0-4 Barça
TEAM NEWS
Mallorca
Mallorca will be without the services of Omar Mascarell and Antonio Raillo on Tuesday through injury, but the home side are otherwise in good shape heading into this match.
It's expected that the host will line up with 5 at the back to protect Predrag Rajkovic in goal. Pablo Maffeo, Martin Valjent, Matija Nastasic, Jose Manuel Copete and Toni Lato will form the defense.
Dani Rodriguez, Manu Morlanes, Samu Costa and super sub Abdon Prats will form the midfield and support Vedat Muriqui in attack. Former Espanyol man Sergi Darder will also be available for selection.
Barcelona
Sadly, Frenkie DeJong replaced the returning Ronald Araujo in the infirmary. He suffered a high ankle sprain against Celta and is expected to be out for 6-8 weeks. Pedri is close to a return, but still unavailable.
Ter Stegen, MVP of the last game, will start in goal. Koundé and Christensen looked a bit fatigued against Celta and probably deserve rest. This gives chance to Araujo and Martinez in central defense, to be supported by Cancelo and Balde.
Gavi, Romeu and Gündoğan are expected to start in midfield, with Fermin Lopez and Sergi Roberto available for selection. João Felix has started all 3 games and may start this one as well, even though Raphinha and Lamine Yamal have more chances, after coming off the bench against Celta and changing the game. The Pichichi race is on and Lewandowski is expected to start and add to his growing tally.
When does Mallorca vs Barcelona kick off?
Location: Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Stadium: Mallorca Son Moix Stadium
Date: Tuesday 26 September
Kick-off Time: 20:30 BST / 15:30 ET / 12:30 PT
Referee: Alejandro Muniz Ruiz
VAR: Eduardo Prieto Iglesias
Mallorca will be edging to bounce back from the defeat at Girona by perhaps taking a leaf from Celta Vigo's (or Getafe's) book, but Barcelona will be well aware of their faults in those games and will look to work on that while collecting all three points at Son Moix.