Barcelona will be aiming to put an end to a recent negative run at Camp Nou as they host Mallorca in La Liga on Sunday. Mallorca are in a battle for survival at the moment and should be no match for the Catalans’ superior quality.
Barcelona have surprisingly struggled at Camp Nou in recent weeks and head into Sunday’s clash off the back of three straight home defeats across all competitions. The latest of those defeats was a 1-0 loss to Rayo Vallecano in their previous La Liga fixture.
These recent struggles at home will be troubling to manager Xavi as Barcelona have now been closed down by Sevilla and Atletico Madrid in the race for second place. The good news is their general form in La Liga has been solid with eight wins from their last 10 matches.
Barcelona have won their last five away matches and will be looking to channel some of those performances into their home fixtures. Among their recent results on the road is a 4-0 triumph at Real Madrid while they also claimed a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad jn their previous away fixture.
Sitting two points above the bottom three with five matches left to play, Mallorca are deep in the relegation scrap. Their recent form may offer some hope of survival having claimed two wins from their last three matches.
Mallorca travel to Barcelona off the back of a 2-1 home victory over Alavez in their previous La Liga fixture. They raced to a two-goal lead at halftime through Abdon Prats and Vedat Muriqi before the visitors pulled one back midway through the second half.
Among the problems for Mallorca this season is a woeful record on their travels where they have lost their last eight away matches. Javier Aguirre’s men have also struggled in attack, failing to score six times in that run.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have installed Barcelona as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 1/3 by William Hill. A victory for Mallorca is valued at 9/1 by SBK, who are also offering odds of 24/5 for a draw.
Recent head to head
Barcelona often come out on top in this fixture and have won the last eight meetings with Mallorca. The Catalans also claimed a 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture back in February.
Players to watch
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has impressed since joining Barcelona in January and is just one goal away from getting into double figures in the league. The striker has nine goals in 12 La Liga appearances and is priced at 4/5 by Unibet to get on the score sheet.
At the other end of the pitch, Barcelona have a bit of a defensive crisis but Eric Garcia and Ronald Araujo are available to feature. Given Mallorca’s attacking problems on their travels, the Catalans will be targeting a clean sheet at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
Anything else catch the eye?
Mallorca’s attacking problems on the road means Barcelona will be targeting a win to nil at 27/20 by Unibet. The Catalans are also likely to earn a comfortable victory and could be backed in the -2 handicap market at 5/2 with Paddy Power.
Barcelona were the only team to score in the reverse fixture and a similar outcome is priced at 5/4 with bet365.
This La Liga match between Barcelona and Mallorca will be played on May 1, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Mallorca prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
