Preview: Barcelona vs Mallorca - prediction, team news, lineups

Barcelona will be bidding to open up a four-point lead at the top of the La Liga table when they welcome Mallorca to Camp Nou on Saturday afternoon.

The Catalan giants are currently one point ahead of second-placed Real Madrid at the summit, while Mallorca are 14th, just two points clear of the relegation zone.

Match preview

Barcelona have already won the Spanish Super Cup this season and are chasing three more trophies in the final months of the campaign, with their spot in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey secured courtesy of a 2-1 success over Albacete on Tuesday night.

Hansi Flick's side are also in the last-16 stage of the Champions League, while they sit at the top of the La Liga table, one point clear of second-placed Real Madrid, who are not in action until Sunday against Valencia.

Barcelona have won their last two in La Liga against Real Oviedo and Elche, and another victory on Saturday would move them four points clear at the summit, piling the pressure back on Real Madrid, with the two rivals currently involved in a fierce battle.

The Catalan giants are on a four-game winning run against Mallorca, including a 3-0 success when the pair locked horns in the reverse fixture earlier this season.

Barcelona have not actually lost to Mallorca since May 2009, while they are unbeaten at home against the Pirates since May 2008, so it would be a huge shock to see the visitors claim all three points in this weekend's contest.

Mallorca have had a tough season, only picking up 24 points from their 22 matches, which has left them in 14th spot in the table, just two points outside of the relegation zone.

However, Jagoba Arrasate's side will enter this match off the back of a strong result, beating Sevilla 4-1, and they have actually been victorious in two of their last three games, also overcoming Athletic Bilbao on January 17.

The Pirates actually have the eighth-best home record in Spain's top flight this season, but it has been a different story on the road, recording just one win from 11 matches, collecting only five points in the process.

Mallorca's away form is a real concern when it comes to their chances of staying in the division, and they have two more difficult games before the end of the month, hosting Real Betis on February 15 before heading to Celta Vigo one week later.

The Pirates will be the fresher of the two teams, having not been in action since beating Sevilla in the league, but there is no downplaying the size of their task away to the champions on Saturday afternoon.

Barcelona La Liga form:

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Barcelona form (all competitions):

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Mallorca La Liga form:

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Team News

Barcelona will again be without the services of Gavi (knee), Andreas Christensen (knee) and Pedri (hamstring) on Saturday, while Raphinha is dealing with a groin problem, so it would be a surprise to see the Brazilian feature.

There will be changes from the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Albacete in the Copa del Rey, and there is a chance that Flick could name the same three-man midfield that featured against Elche, with Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez operating alongside Frenkie de Jong.

Such a decision would lead to Eric Garcia featuring in the middle of the defence, while Raphinha's spot in the side may be taken by Marcus Rashford, with Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres also making up the front three.

As for Mallorca, Marash Kumbulla is the team's only doubt, with the 25-year-old missing the last two matches, but the visitors are otherwise in excellent shape.

Considering the nature of the performance and indeed result against Sevilla last time out, it would not be a surprise to see the same XI take to the field here, with Vedat Muriqi, who has 15 league goals to his name this term, leading the line.

Former Barcelona attacker Jan Virgili is also set to start, but there could be an alteration on the opposite side, with Antonio Sanchez potentially preferred to Takuma Asano.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, E Garcia, Balde; Olmo, De Jong, Fermin; Yamal, Torres, Rashford

Mallorca possible starting lineup:

Roman; Maffeo, Lopez, Valjent, Mojica; Mascarell, Costa; A Sanchez, Darder, Virgili; Muriqi

We say: Barcelona 3-1 Mallorca

Mallorca have a lot of quality in the final third of the field, while Barcelona's defence is far from secure, so we fancy the visitors to score on Saturday, but the hosts are exceptional going forward, and we are expecting all three points to go to the champions.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.