Barcelona will aim to maintain their perfect home record since returning to the Spotify Camp Nou when they host Mallorca on Saturday, . The match presents a significant test for Hansi Flick’s side, currently just one point clear of Real Madrid in the La Liga title race.
Historically, the matchup heavily favors Barcelona, who are unbeaten in their last 19 La Liga games against Mallorca, securing 17 victories during that stretch. Given Mallorca’s current position in a relegation battle, anything less than a win for Barcelona would be viewed as a setback.
Flick’s team has won 11 of their last 12 La Liga matches, demonstrating a strong run of form. However, the tight competition at the top of the table means dropped points could prove costly as the season progresses.
Match Snapshot
- 🕒 Kick-off time: 3:15 p.m. GMT, 10:15 a.m. ET, 7:15 a.m. PT
- 📍 Location: Spotify Camp Nou
- 🏆 Competition: La Liga
- 📊 Recent form: WWWWW
Team News
Barcelona will be without several key players for the match. Raphinha will miss a second consecutive game due to a muscular overload, with Flick stating the club is taking a cautious approach to his recovery to prevent a recurrence of the injury. Pedri and Gavi have been spotted training on the pitch, indicating progress in their respective recoveries, but remain weeks away from a return to competitive action. Andreas Christensen is sidelined for the remainder of the season.
Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Mallorca (4-2-3-1)
GK: Joan García—The Spaniard routinely adds new acrobatic saves to his season highlight reel, but he’s been slightly shaky in recent games and hasn’t kept a clean sheet in three straight.
RB: Jules Koundé—Koundé’s struggles have been well documented, but a stellar performance a week ago should serve as a confidence boost to return to his best.
CB: Pau Cubarsí—Cubarsí has struggled against physical center forwards this term and Vedat Muriqi represents another major test for the La Masia graduate.
CB: Eric García—Flick will deploy García in the heart of defense as the German continues to exploit his versatility. The García-Cubarsí partnership remains Flick’s preferred pairing despite their lack of physicality.
LB: Alejandro Balde—Balde’s performance against Elche a week ago was publicly praised by Flick as he reminded the world why he’s one of the most dynamic and complete left backs in the sport.
CM: Frenkie de Jong—De Jong seemingly can do no wrong these days and is playing arguably at the highest level of his career.
CM: Dani Olmo—Despite playing in a deeper role of late, Olmo has continued to break open backlines with perfectly placed through balls.
RW: Lamine Yamal—Yamal has been in sensational touch, creating 12 chances in his last two league matches and arriving to Saturday’s clash having scored in four consecutive games in all competitions—the longest streak of his career.
AM: Fermin López—The Spaniard will be eager to make up for his uncharacteristically wasteful showing a week ago, where he could’ve easily scored a hat-trick but instead exited the game empty-handed.
LW: Marcus Rashford—The Englishman is the third Barça player this season to reach double digits in both goals and assists. His output is unquestionable, but the overall feeling is there’s still another level he can unlock if he puts it all together.
ST: Ferran Torres—Torres gets the nod as he continues to narrowly edge Robert Lewandowski in the starting striker battle. Still, if he continues to miss more chances than the ones he converts, the veteran Pole could return to the lineup sooner rather than later.
