La Liga Match Preview: Barcelona vs Mallorca Odds
Second Place in Barcelona’s Sights
Mallorca Coming off Dream Week
Just in the last week, Mallorca advanced to their first Copa del Rey final since 2003 and defeated second-placed Girona in La Liga. Coming off a dream week, Mallorca head to Barcelona on Friday for a La Liga contest.
Given Mallorca’s win over Girona and their draw at Athletic Club, Barcelona are now just one point off of second place. As FCB go for their 11th La Liga home win of the season, we’ll run through the Barcelona vs Mallorca odds.
Barcelona vs Mallorca
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Location: Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona vs Mallorca Head-to-Head
In September, Barcelona and Mallorca contested a 2-2 draw in which Barça equalized on two occasions. The pregame Barcelona vs Mallorca odds listed a draw at +320 and Mallorca ended an 11 game losing streak to Barcelona.
Still, Mallorca haven’t won any of their last 15 La Liga matches vs Barcelona. Mallorca last defeated Barcelona in 2009 and FCB are on a 31 game scoring streak in this fixture.
Barcelona Lose Pedri and De Jong Over Weekend
Barcelona’s 25 game La Liga scoring streak came to an end on Sunday when they had to settle for a scoreless draw at Athletic Bilbao. Barcelona had an opportunity to surpass second-placed Girona and close the gap on leaders Real Madrid to six points.
However, they remain in third place, eight points behind Real. Plus, midfielders Frenkie De Jong and Pedri went off injured in the first half of the match. It looks like the duo will be out for the foreseeable future, which is especially bad news given next week’s Champions League match vs Napoli.
In last season’s title winning campaign, Barcelona conceded just 20 goals in 38 La Liga games. However, they’ve already conceded 34 goals in 27 La Liga matches in 2023-24. Starting center back Ronald Araujo is out for Friday’s match as well due to a suspension.
The pairing of Pau Cubarsi and Araujo was beginning to improve Barça’s defense. They’ve only conceded four goals in the six matches the pair has started together. However, when 17-year old Cubarsi started with Iñigo Martinez, Barcelona gave up three goals in a draw with Granada.
Martinez will likely start on Friday unless Xavi drops Andreas Christensen, who has been starting in midfield, back into defense. Robert Lewandowski has failed to score in his last two games but he ranks sixth in the La Liga stats, with 12 goals.
While Lewandowski is available, fellow forward Ferran Torres is doubtful with a thigh injury. Meanwhile, Alex Balde, Gavi and Marcos Alonso are out.
Mallorca Growing in Confidence
Mallorca’s incredible penalty kick shootout victory at Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey Semifinal last week seems to have instilled confidence in them.
On Sunday, Mallorca followed up their cup triumph with a 1-0 victory over second-placed Girona. Jose Manuel Copete scored the game’s only goal. Mallorca’s goalkeepers have been performing incredibly well over the last couple of matches.
Predrag Rajkovic made a few big saves in the shutout victory vs Girona. Meanwhile, Dominik Greif saved a penalty in normal time at Sociedad and was the hero in the shootout.
Grief saved Mikel Oyarzabal’s low effort and Mallorca made all of their penalties to advance to the final. Mallorca have lost just one of their last four La Liga fixtures but they’re in 15th place in the league.
Two of their five victories in La Liga this season have come in the last four games and their form has improved over the last few months. Mallorca have stuck by coach Javier Aguirre even during an incredibly rough period earlier in the La Liga season and it’s paid off.
No Mallorca player has scored more than five goals this season and only Rayo Vallecano have scored fewer goals in La Liga this season. At the moment, defender Pablo Maffeo is the only Mallorca player out injured.
Barcelona vs Mallorca Match Analysis & Odds
The La Liga odds price Barcelona as +2000 longshots to win the league and they have almost no margin for error remaining. This is a match they need to win but Xavi will have to tinker with the backline with Araujo out.
Still, Barcelona are -220 favorites for this one and Barça -1, -1.5 sits at +105 odds. Given Mallorca’s recent triumphs, Mallorca +1, +1.5 displays -125 odds.
However, Los Piratas haven’t won on the road at Barcelona for almost 21 years. Mallorca are priced at +595 moneyline odds and given Barcelona’s absences this is a rare opportunity for them to capitalize. A draw (+365) is another option for bettors and the reverse fixture finished all square.
Barcelona have drawn three of their last five matches, in all competitions. They’ve kept shutouts in each of their last two but without Araujo, they don’t have a trusted center back pairing. Even so, under 2.5, 3 goals show -120 odds at the moment.
For La Liga betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
