Mallorca vs Barcelona

Estadi Mallorca Son Moix sets the stage for a high-stakes La Liga showdown between European hopefuls Mallorca and title-bidding Barcelona.

Mallorca’s pursuit of a first European qualification in over 20 years is firmly on track. A 2-1 comeback triumph at Valencia last weekend kept them within striking distance of fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao, strengthening their impressive La Liga start. Indeed, ‘Los Piratas’ have won almost 50% of their opening 15 league matches this season (W7, D3, L5) and, as a result, trail the final UEFA Champions League qualifying spot by only two points. For further context, Mallorca needed 11 games more to amass a 24-point tally in 2023/24, highlighting Jagoba Arrasate’s fantastic work in his maiden season at Son Moix. After back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Atletico Madrid and Deportivo Alaves, Arrasate’s men have won consecutive league matches despite conceding on each occasion, including a goal-glutted 3-2 victory at Las Palmas on their last La Liga travel. 

Barcelona couldn’t replicate Mallorca’s result against Las Palmas, who became the first team to take points at the Catalan club’s temporary home venue this season, dispatching ‘Los Blaugranas’ 2-1 at the weekend. The visitors’ lead at La Liga’s summit has been narrowed to a single point on arch-rivals Real Madrid, who also have a game in hand, underscoring the importance of returning to winning ways immediately. Hansi Flick’s charges threw away a two-goal cushion in a dismal 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo in their last away league game, which forms part of their underwhelming three-game winless streak in top-flight action (D1, L2). Though Barca’s form has plummeted, they can take heart from beating Mallorca in seven consecutive away league H2Hs before a 2-2 draw in this corresponding fixture last season.