Barcelona will be looking to consolidate their spot at the top of La Liga when they resume their 2019-20 campaign away to struggling Mallorca on Saturday night.
The Spanish champions are currently two points clear of Real Madrid at the summit, while Mallorca occupy 18th position, one point from the safety of 17th ahead of the return of Spain's top flight.
Match preview
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Mallorca secured a return to Spain's top flight by advancing through the Segunda Division playoffs last season, but Los Bermellones are facing a battle to secure their position at this level for the 2020-21 campaign.
Indeed, Vicente Moreno's side have only collected 25 points from their 27 league matches during the 2019-20 season, leaving them 18th in the table with 11 games left.
Mallorca's position is far from terminal as they are only a point off 17th-placed Celta Vigo, while they have won seven league games this season, which is relatively high considering their spot in the table.
Their form prior to the lockdown period was strong, meanwhile, suffering just one defeat in their last four matches, recording two wins in the process, including a 2-1 success at Eibar last time out.
The omens are not exactly terrific for Mallorca, though, as they have lost their last six La Liga matches with Barca and have not been victorious against the Catalan giants in the league since May 2009.
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Barca, meanwhile, entered the lockdown period off the back of a 1-0 win over Sociedad, which followed a 2-0 loss away to Real Madrid in El Clasico at the start of March.
Quique Setien's side have already lost five times in Spain's top flight this season but a record of 18 wins and four draws has brought them 58 points, leaving them two points clear of second-placed Real Madrid.
The Spanish champions have actually won five of their last six league matches, and as mentioned above, have dominated their recent meetings with Mallorca, scoring five times in each of their last two clashes.
Barca still have to travel to Sevilla and welcome Atletico Madrid before the end of the season, but they are in charge of their own destiny and will be determined to put three points on the board this weekend.
The games will come thick and fast for Setien's team as a mid-week clash with Leganes is followed by a trip to Sevilla on June 19, while the club will also be eagerly anticipating an announcement on the Champions League.
Mallorca La Liga form: LLWDLW
Barcelona La Liga form: WWWWLW
Barcelona form (all competitions): WWWDLW
Team News
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Mallorca will be without the services of either Leonardo Koutris or Lumor Agbenyenu, but Salva Sevilla is available after serving a suspension against Eibar last time out.
Sevilla should return to a midfield position, while on-loan Real Madrid attacker Takefusa Kubo is likely to feature against the club that he represented for four years before seeking pastures new.
Dani Rodriguez is expected to keep his spot in a wide position, while Juan Hernandez and Ante Budimir should feature as the front two, having scored 11 league goals between them this term.
Barca will again be without the services of Ousmane Dembele due to a long-term hamstring injury, but Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are both fit for the champions this weekend.
Messi had given Barca a scare by picking up a minor thigh injury last week, but the Argentina international has been declared fit, while the lockdown period has allowed Suarez the chance to recover from knee surgery.
Antoine Griezmann is expected to join Messi and Suarez in attack, while Arturo Vidal could get the nod to feature in midfield over both Arthur and Ivan Rakitic.
Further back, Clement Lenglet's suspension will open the door for Samuel Umtiti to start, while Sergi Roberto is expected to get the nod at right-back due to the uncertainty surrounding Nelson Semedo's involvement.
Semedo is due to undergo another coronavirus test ahead of the contest, having allegedly broken rules when it comes to large gatherings by attending a birthday party with 19 other people.
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Reina; Gamez, Raillo, Valjent, Pozo; Kubo, Baba, Sevilla, Rodriguez; Hernandez, Budimir
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; De Jong, Busquets, Vidal; Griezmann, Suarez, Messi
We say: Mallorca 0-2 Barcelona
It is difficult to predict exactly what will occur due to the circumstances surrounding the contest, but Barca will fancy their chances of picking up an important three points. Suarez's expected return is big news for the champions, who should have enough to emerge victorious on the night.
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Barcelona win with a probability of 61.01%. A draw had a probability of 21.9% and a win for Mallorca had a probability of 17.07%.
The most likely scoreline for a Barcelona win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.77%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (11.13%) and 1-2 (9.86%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.42%), while for a Mallorca win it was 1-0 (5.51%). The actual scoreline of 0-4 was predicted with a 3.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Barcelona would win this match.
