Barcelona vs Mallorca predictions and match preview for Sunday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as the final game at Camp Nou takes place before extensive redevelopment work.
Date | Sunday 28th May 2023 |
Kick-Off | 19:00 (CEST) |
Stadium | Camp Nou |
Competition | LaLiga |
Barcelona vs Mallorca Preview
It’ll be an emotional occasion on Sunday in Barcelona with several goodbyes to be said. It’s the final home game for club legends Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba who will both leave the club this summer while it’s also the end of an era for Camp Nou itself with extensive redevelopment work set for next season which will see Barça moving to the old Olympic Stadium.
They do at least have a league title to sign off with but Xavi will want his team to show some kind of response to back-to-back defeats over the past week against Real Sociedad and Real Valladolid. A lot of sloppiness and defensive uncertainty has crept into their play and that really hasn’t been in keeping with the rest of their league season which has been defined by consistency and defensive excellence.
Alba and Busquets are both set to start this game, bringing to an end glorious careers at the club which has seen them both win everything there is to win. Privately, they both may have been keen to continue for at least one more year, but Barcelona’s financial problems have largely made their departures a necessity and at least those issues have been finalised in time for both to get the send-off they certainly deserve here.
Playing the role of potential party poopers will be Mallorca who have plenty to celebrate themselves after a really solid season. They are only 3 points off a European place heading into this weekend, although with four teams to overhaul, it’s still highly unlikely that they’ll be able to qualify for the Conference League, although a shock win here might just make things interesting next weekend when they host Rayo.
They’ll need a few favours elsewhere for that dream to come to pass and it’s probably not something Javier Aguirre will be spending much time pondering on. He’d have been happy to see his team edge out Valencia 1-0 at home in midweek, although it is true that their away form this season has left plenty to be desired and they were really poor in a 3-0 loss to Almeria only last weekend.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Barcelona
INJURED | Pedri |
DOUBTFUL | Kounde, Araujo |
BANNED |
Possible XI: Ter Stegen – Alba, Christensen, Kounde, Balde – De Jong, Busquets, Gavi – Dembele, Lewandowski, Raphinha (4-3-3)
Coach: Xavi
Mallorca
INJURED | Nastasic, Augustinsson, Ruiz de Galaretta, Raillo |
DOUBTFUL | |
BANNED | Kang-in, Antonio Sanchez |
Possible XI: Rajkovic – Copete, Valjent, Hadzikadunic – Costa, Baba, Morlanes, Maffeo – Dani Rodriguez, Amath – Muriqi (3-4-2-1)
Coach: Javier Aguirre
Score Prediction: Barcelona 2-0 Mallorca
This should be a celebratory and emotional night at Camp Nou and while recent games have certainly not gone to plan, they should be capable of regaining a bit of focus and giving two departing legends a positive send-off. Mallorca are missing their most creative player Kang-in Lee to suspension and they rarely travel particularly well so it should be a return to winning ways for the home team.
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