Mallorca will welcome Barcelona to the Balearic Islands in the La Liga matchday 19 on Sunday. The kick-off is at 22:00 CEST.

Preview

It's been a quite successful season for Mallorca even if they sit in 15th in the Spanish top flight table with 20 points. Luis Garcia Plaza's men have only lost twice in their last 10 games across all competitions, including their most recent encounter with Granada when they suffered a 4-1 defeat at Los Carmenes on December 19. Moreover, the Pirates have managed to beat Atletico Madrid (2-1) and share points with Sevilla (1-1) during that run.

Barcelona, meanwhile, continue to struggle under the guidance of the club's living legend Xavi Hernandez as the Catalans have only registered three victories in nine games in all competitions since his appointment in the Camp Nou dugout in November. Therefore, the Blaugranas have found themselves in the seventh place in the standings following their 1-1 stalemate at Sevilla before Christmas.

Team news

While Garcia Plaza has all but fully fit squad for this clash with Antonio Raillo as the only injury doubt, Xavi has no less than 16 first-team players unavailable for the weekend's trip to Mallorca with the likes of Dani Alves, Samuel Umtiti, Sergino Dest and Philippe Coutinho all testing positive for Covid-19 lately and Sergi Roberto, Pedri, Ansu Fati, Martin Braithwaite Memphis Depay and the club's new boy Ferran Torres all on the sidelines. Gavi and Sergio Busquets, meanwhile, will play no part for Barca on Sunday due to suspension.

Prediction

As mentioned, Mallorca have already taken points away from Atletico and Sevilla, so it would be no wonder if the Pirates cause major troubles to the Catalans' depleted side in their 2022 opener. Even with all their key players available, Barca have struggled drastically this term so far, so we'd rather give the hosts a slight advantage this time around.

Tip

Mallorca to win or draw at 1.77 with 1XBET.