Xavi’s Barcelona will look to make it six wins in a row in La Liga when they hit the road to square up RCD Mallorca.
16th-placed RCD Mallorca are all set to host high-flying Barcelona, who have recently claimed the top spot in the league. The Catalan giants are in red-hot form, having won their last five games in the league, and they will look to make it six in a row when they square up against the home team.
Mallorca have won just one out of their first six games. They have accumulated five points so far and are 16th on the points table. They have scored just seven goals and have already conceded 10 goals. The home team’s only win was a 1-0 triumph over Celta Vigo. But post that, they suffered a 5-3 loss at the hands of Girona. They are heading into this on the back of a loss and would love to bounce back with a win over the league leaders.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have claimed the top spot in the league with five back-to-back wins after having dropped points on the first day of the season. The Catalan giants have accumulated 16 points in their six outings and are level on points with second-placed Girona.
The visitors were 2-0 behind in their last outing against Celta Vigo but managed to script a comeback and win the game 3-2. Xavi’s men will be confident of getting another positive result when they square up against Mallorca. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at this fixture and tries to predict the tactics the two teams could use.
Team News & Tactics
RCD Mallorca
The home team will be without the services of Omar Mascarell and Antonio Raillo. Apart from the duo, they have everyone available for this tough fixture against the league leaders.
Sorry about Yesterday. Focused on our next match, at home against @FCBarcelona_es ❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/7AzfB4NOU6
— RCD_MallorcaEN (@RCD_MallorcaEN) September 24, 2023
Head coach Javier Aguirre is unlikely to make any major changes to the XI that took the field in their last outing. They are expected to go ahead with the 5-4-1 formation, where Predrag Rajkovic will be in goal.
Pablo Maffeo will continue as the right wingback, while Toni Lato could come in on the left. The three central defenders will be Martin Valjent, Matija Nastasic and Jose Manuel Copete. The Mallorca defence will have the tough task of stopping a star-studded Barcelona attack that has been scoring goals for fun.
Dani Rodriguez and Abdon Prats who scored twice after coming off the bench last time out will start out wide in the centre of the park. Manu Morlanes and Samu Costa will be seen in a more central role. Vedat Muriqi will be leading the line for the home team.
Probable Lineup (5-4-1): Rajkovic; Maffeo, Valjent, Nastasic, Copete, Lato; D Rodriguez, Morlanes, Costa, Prats; Muriqi
Barcelona
The visitors will be without the services of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong. Meanwhile, they do have a boost as Ronald Araujo has returned from injury. He featured in their last match off the bench and is expected to start in this fixture.
❝In the upcoming matches there will be an average of two to three rotations per game. The goal is to have the players one hundred percent fit and to also prevent injuries❞
🔊 – Xavi – pic.twitter.com/X8O6xdCJlS
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 25, 2023
Xavi will stick with the 4-3-3 formation where Marc-Andre ter Stegen will be in goal. In form, Joao Cancelo will continue as the right-back and Alejandro Balde will take charge on the left flank. In the heart of the defence, Araujo will pair up with Jules Kounde.
With de Jong out injured, Gavi, Oriol Romeu and Ilkay Gundogan will be three in the centre of the park. They will look to dictate the pace of the game and control the majority of the ball.
Raphina could start on the right flank while Joao Felix will continue on the left having started off in fine fashion since joining Barcelona. Star striker Robert Lewandowski who scored a brace last time out will be leading the line.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Cancelo, Kounde, Araujo, Balde; Gundogan, Romeu, Gavi; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Felix
Key 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.
Player to Watch
Robert Lewandowski
Barcelona were struggling against Celta Vigo in their last outing. The Catalan giants were 2-0 down, but they managed to bounce back and win 3-2 thanks to a brace by Lewandowski. The Polish international once again did the job for his team.
The 35-year-old already has eight goal contributions in six outings in all competitions, and he is expected to have a huge say on the result of this away fixture against Mallorca. He could end up being the difference between the two teams given his recent form.
Prediction
RCD Mallorca 0-2 Barcelona
Barcelona have been on fire of late. They have won their last five league games. The majority of their wins have been quite comfortable but their last fixture against Celta Vigo did push them to their limits. However, they managed to bounce back and snatch all three points.
The Catalan giants have a well-balanced squad and the majority of their players are in form. As a result, Mallorca might not stand a chance against Xavi’s team. They have only won one game this season and do not really have the needed quality to stun Barcelona here. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-0 win for the visitors.
Barcelona another win of 5 -0