Barcelona will be aiming to take another big step towards the La Liga title when they host Mallorca on Tuesday night.
The Catalan giants will enter the match off the back of a 4-3 victory over Celta Vigo, which moved them seven points clear at the top of the La Liga table, while Mallorca occupy seventh, which is now a Europe League position in Spain's top flight.
Match preview
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Barcelona were involved in a seven-goal thriller with Celta on Saturday afternoon, and they actually trailed the Vigo outfit 3-1 in the second period of the contest, but three unanswered goals from the Catalan side allowed them to record a 4-3 victory.
Raphinha's winning goal came from the penalty spot in the 98th minute, and it was a gigantic three points for Hansi Flick's side, who have opened up a seven-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid at the top of the table.
The gap could be back to four points on Sunday night, with Real Madrid hosting Athletic Bilbao, but Barcelona are very much in charge of the title race at this stage of proceedings, and a hugely impressive La Liga campaign has seen them score 88 times in their 32 matches, so they are very much on for a century of league goals in 2024-25.
Barcelona are chasing a treble late in the season, preparing to tackle Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final next weekend, while they will face Inter Milan in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The Catalan team have been rocked by the news that Robert Lewandowski is set for a spell out with a hamstring issue, though, and it remains to be seen when Flick can get his leading goalscorer back on the field.
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Mallorca were thumped 5-1 by Barcelona in the reverse match earlier this season, while they have incredibly not managed to overcome the Catalan team in Spain's top flight since May 2009, while their last away success was 12 months before that.
Jagoba Arrasate's side will enter this match off the back of a 0-0 draw with Leganes, but they recorded an impressive 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad in their last match on their travels on April 12.
Los Piratas are seventh in the table, boasting a record of 12 wins, eight draws and 12 defeats from their 32 matches to collect 44 points, and that is currently enough to secure qualification for next season's Europa League league stage.
Eighth is now a Conference League playoff spot, meanwhile, so Mallorca are very much on for a European finish this term, which would be an excellent achievement considering that the team finished down in 15th last season.
Mallorca have picked up 20 points from their 15 away league matches this season, which is a strong record, but they will be coming up against a Barcelona team that have the strongest record at their temporary home during the 2024-25 campaign.
Team News
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Barcelona are yet to learn the extent of Lewandowski's hamstring injury, but the Poland international will certainly be out of this match, and he is also a major doubt for the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid.
Alejandro Balde, Marc Casado, Marc Bernal and Marc-Andre ter Stegen also remain on the sidelines, and head coach Flick is expected to make changes to his starting side on Tuesday, with Lamine Yamal in line to return to the XI.
Ronald Araujo and Gavi could also earn recalls to the starting side, but Dani Olmo is likely to again feature off the bench, with Torres set to move into the centre-forward role due to the absence of Lewandowski.
As for Mallorca, Manu Morlanes, Vedat Muriqi, Robert Navarro and Takuma Asano remain major doubts, but the visitors did not pick up any fresh problems in their goalless draw with Leganes last time out.
Head coach Arrasate may make just one change to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Leganes, with Antonio Sanchez potentially coming in for Abdon Prats in the final third of the field.
A 5-3-2 formation is again likely to be used by the Pirates, with Dani Rodriguez featuring in a deeper midfield role, while Pablo Maffeo and Johan Mojica are set to continue in the wing-back areas on Tuesday night.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Martin; Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Torres
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Greif; Maffeo, Valjent, Raillo, Copete, Mojica; D Rodriguez, S Costa, Darder; Larin, A Sanchez
We say: Barcelona 2-1 Mallorca
Mallorca are capable of making this an uncomfortable match for Barcelona, and we are expecting a close game on Tuesday evening in terms of the scoreline. That said, the Catalan giants should be able to navigate their way to another huge three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
