After back-to-back slip-ups from their arch-rivals, Pep Guardiola's side can put themselves right back in the Liga title race with a win at the Iberostar stadium
Iberostar Estadi — Palma de Mallorca
Team News
Mallorca
Alvaro Gimenez scored the winner as Mallorca recorded their second
impressive win of the week with a 3-2 success at Sporting Gijon on
Wednesday.
However the young striker is a doubt for the visit of the European
champions after pulling up in training with a muscle complaint on
Thursday. Joaquín Caparrós can, however, welcome back Ivan Ramis, Chori Castro and
Michael Pereira from suspension and all three are expected to start.
probable lineups : Aouate, Caceres, Nunes, Ramis, Chico, Tissone, Marti, Nsue, Castro, Pereira, Victor. (4-2-3-1).
| 21 Mar 2012 | Sporting de Gijón 2 - Mallorca 3 | |
| 18 Mar 2012 | Mallorca 2 - Atlético de Madrid 1 | |
| 11 Mar 2012 | Valencia 2 - Mallorca 2 | |
| 3 Mar 2012 | Mallorca 1 - Osasuna 1 | |
| 26 Feb 2012 | Real Sociedad 1 - Mallorca 0 |
Barcelona
Barcelona are right back in the title race as another Lionel Messi
inspired performance saw them overcome Granada 5-3 on Tuesday night and
Real Madrid could only extend their lead to six points with a 1-1 draw
with Villarreal 24 hours later. Pep Guardiola does though have a selection headache at full-back with
Adriano expected to be out for around 10 days and Dani Alves suspended
after being sent-off for conceding two penalties against Granada.
Martin Montoya should therefore be handed a rare start at right-back with Carles Puyol filling in at left-back.
Andrés Iniesta, Cesc Fábregas and Sergio Busquets were all rested from
the start in midweek and should return, but Xavi may be the one to miss
out this time as Guardiola looks ahead to the Champions League clash
with AC Milan on Wednesday.
probable lineups : Valdes, Montoya, Mascherano, Pique, Puyol, Fabregas, Busquets, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi, Cuenca. (4-3-3).
| 20 Mar 2012 | Barcelona 5 - Granada 3 | |
| 17 Mar 2012 | Sevilla 0 - Barcelona 2 | |
| 11 Mar 2012 | Racing Santander 0 - Barcelona 2 | |
| 7 Mar 2012 | Barcelona 7 - Bayer Leverkusen 1 | |
| 3 Mar 2012 | Barcelona 3 - Sporting de Gijón 1 |
Head to Head
| La Liga (LIGA) | 29 Oct 2011 | Barcelona 5 - Mallorca 0 |
|
| La Liga (LIGA) | 26 Feb 2011 | Mallorca 0 - Barcelona 3 |
|
| La Liga (LIGA) | 3 Oct 2010 | Barcelona 1 - Mallorca 1 |
|
| La Liga (LIGA) | 27 Mar 2010 | Mallorca 0 - Barcelona 1 |
|
| La Liga (LIGA) | 7 Nov 2009 | Barcelona 4 - Mallorca 2 |
Prediction
Barcelona will sense the opportunity to heap even more pressure on
Madrid and cut the gap to just three points before they kick-off against
Sociedad in the capital later on Saturday night.
The Champions have now won eight in a row since their defeat at Osasuna
in February and could be hitting form at just the right time.
Mallorca's fine week has all but secured survival as they sit comfortably in mid-table and a defeat here will cause no panic.
Mallorca 1 - 3 Barcelona
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