La Liga Champions Barcelona will look to return to winning ways when they square up against 11th-placed RCD Mallorca.
League leaders Barcelona will host RCD Mallorca in the penultimate matchday of the season. The Catalan giants have lost their last two league fixtures after being crowned champions of Spain, and they will be eager to return to winning ways. Meanwhile, the visitors have an outside chance of finishing in the top seven and they will try to finish with two wins in their last two matches.
The Blaugrana have nothing to play for, but they will hope to improve on their recent results. Things have not gone according to plan for them after they sealed the league title. While they cannot really gain much out of these fixtures, Xavi will look to end the season on a high with wins in their last two matches.
Meanwhile, the visitors Mallorca have done a decent job throughout the season. They are currently 11th in the league and are nine points away from the drop zone with just two games to go. They are just three points behind the 7th spot Osasuna and two wins out of two can see them finish in the UEFA Conference League spot.
However, it won’t be easy as it will require multiple results to go their way. Mallorca are heading into this fixture on the back of a 1-0 win over Valencia and they will be eager to keep the momentum going with a win over the league leaders.
Last time around when the two teams met in the league, Barcelona managed to come out on top with a 1-0 scoreline. It wasn’t the best of performances from Xavi’s men and they will hope to put together a better show at home this time around. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at this fixture and tries to predict the tactics the teams could use.
Team News & Tactics
Barcelona
The newly-crowned La Liga champions will not take any risks with their injured players. As a result, the likes of Pedri, Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde should not be a part of this outing. Meanwhile, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba should start their final match at Camp Nou.
🎙️ Xavi: "We're going to miss Busquets and Alba. They are captains and role models." pic.twitter.com/HmJgwvLbxa
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 27, 2023
Xavi is expected to go ahead with the 4-3-3 formation where Marc-Andre ter Stegen will be in goal. Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba should be the full-backs. Meanwhile, Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso should be the centre-backs.
As far as the midfield is concerned, skipper Sergio Busquets will feature as the holding midfielder for one final time and he will have the support of Gavi and Frenkie de Jong. Raphina should start as the right winger and we could see Ousmane Dembele start on the left flank. Meanwhile, the league’s top goal scorer Robert Lewandowski should be leading the attack.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Roberto, Christensen, Alonso, Alba; Gavi, Busquets, de Jong; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Dembele
RCD Mallorca
The visitors will be without four players for this away trip. Antonio Raillo, Matija Nastasic, Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta and Ludwig Augustinsson are all out injured. Javier Aguirre does not have any fresh injury concerns as a result we might see a similar XI to that one that took the field in their last outing.
⛔️ Rajkovic. pic.twitter.com/PsGnAbc8Bw
— Real Mallorca (@RCD_Mallorca) May 26, 2023
The visitors should go ahead with the 3-4-3 formation where Predrag Rajkovic will start in goal. He will have the back three of Jose Copete, Dennis Hadzikadunic and Martin Valjent in front of him.
The duo of Pablo Maffeo and Lee Kang-in will provide the width to the team. They will have the support of Dani Rodríguez and Iddrisu Baba in the centre of the park. Meanwhile, Tino Kadewere and Amath Ndiaye will start out wide as the wingers. The duo will look to cut inside and link up with their striker Vedat Muriqi who will be leading the lines in this fixture.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Rajkovic; Hadzikadunic, Valjent, Copete; Maffeo, Dani Rodriguez, Baba, Lee Kang-in; Kadewere, Muriqi, Ndiaye
Key Stats
- In the 27 matches between the two teams, Barcelona have won 23 times and they have lost just twice.
- Barcelona have hosted RCD Mallorca at home on 13 occasions and have managed to 11 times.
- The Catalan giants are the second-highest-scoring team in the league with 66 goals in 36 matches.
- Barcelona have the best defence in the league having conceded just 18 goals.
- Mallorca are 11th in the league in terms of goal differential. They have a GD of -6.
Player to Watch
Robert Lewandowski
Lewandowski has been on fire since joining Barcelona ahead of the ongoing season. The Polish international has been involved in 44 matches and has 40 goal contributions to his name.
As far as the league is concerned, he is leading the scoring charts with 23 goals in 32 outings. The 34-year-old also has six assists to his name. The former Bayern Munich striker will look to end the season on a high with a few more goals to his name.
While all the limelight will be on Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba who will be playing their final match at Camp Nou, Lewandowski will be the match to watch out for.
Prediction
Barcelona 2-0 RCD Mallorca
Barcelona might have sealed the league title but they have lost their last two league outings and they will be eager to return to winning ways. With this set to be the final match for Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba at Camp Nou, their former partner in crime and current manager Xavi will look to give them the perfect farewell with a win.
Meanwhile, Mallorca who have an outside chance of finishing 7th in the league will give it their all to come out on top. They have a decent track record of late. However, they might not have enough in their tank to overpower the Catalan giants. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-0 win for the home team.