Mallorca vs Barcelona Prediction: Back the scores to be tied at the half

We have a couple of games in La Liga this midweek with both Barca and Real Madrid action. First up is on Tuesday evening (18:00) when Hansi Flick's side visit Mallorca. The match will be broadcast live on Premier Sports 1.

Our Spanish Football expert Mark Sochon thinks this might be a close one. Check out his preview below for his Best Bets and Real Mallorca vs Barcelona Predictions...

*You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com

Barcelona make the short hop across the Balearic Sea to Palma on Tuesday for a showdown against surprise package Mallorca in La Liga.  

With the home team currently in the European positions, this has the potential to be another awkward evening for a Barça side that is going through a serious dip in form, following a near perfect start to the campaign.  

There was even talk of the Catalan giants running away with the title race in Spain this season, when they won 11 of their opening 12 league fixtures, including the 4-0 drubbing of Real Madrid in El Clásico. Their advantage at the top was nine points following the derby win over Espanyol on matchday 12 and Hansi Flick’s team were not just winning games, but outclassing opponents in virtually every game.  

While it’s rare for even the best teams to go through a full season without suffering a few blips, the speed with which Barça have surrendered their advantage at the top has taken everyone by surprise.  

They head into Tuesday’s game having taken just one point from their last three matches in La Liga. With the Madrid clubs both picking up maximum points during that same period, a huge swing has taken place at the top of the table and we’re suddenly looking at a close fought and potentially three-horse title race again.  

That’s great from a neutral perspective, but Barça fans will be scratching their heads at why their team’s level has dropped so suddenly.  

Their poor run started with a 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad, with the visitors, who had scored 40 goals in 12 league matches prior to that point, failing to register a single shot on target in the game.  

They were again some way short of their best in a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo, and worse was to come on Saturday as the league leaders slumped to an unthinkable 2-1 home defeat against a Las Palmas side that started the campaign as the favourites for the drop.  

While Raphinha was once again impressive in that match, scoring with a fine strike from just outside the penalty area, Barça weren’t at their fluid best and the visitors twice found space behind their high line to secure a famous victory.  

This will be a different kind of test. Mallorca aren’t a side particularly blessed with pace in the final third, so there is perhaps less risk of the visitors getting caught on the break. However, the Balearic Islanders will look to make the most of their aerial advantage, and could even line up with Vedat Muriqi and Abdón Prats in a very physical front two.  

Muriqi, the focal point of the Mallorca attack over the past few years, was suspended on Friday night, but Jagoba Arrasate’s side still managed to come from behind to beat Valencia 2-1. That was their seventh league victory of the season already, just one fewer than they picked up in all of the previous campaign under Javier Aguirre.  

Overall, Aguirre will be remembered for doing a good job in Palma, establishing Mallorca as a top flight club again and coming so close to delivering silverware with a penalty shootout Copa del Rey final defeat earlier this year. However, it does feel like they have found an extra gear so far under the guidance of former Osasuna boss Arrasate.   

The blueprint is still much the same, with a solid defence that has let in just 0.87 goals per game in La Liga providing strong foundations. Only three teams have conceded fewer goals than Mallorca this term and while they’re still not the most eye-catching side at the other end of the pitch, they take good form into this one following back-to-back victories and five goals scored in their last two league outings. 

Team News: 

Both coaches are likely to rotate their teams for this midweek game. Mallorca are expected to recall Leo Román in goal, while Muriqi should return up front following suspension. 

There could also be a number of changes in midfield following the Valencia game, with the likes of Antonio Sánchez and Omar Mascarell potentially coming in. They’re missing Antonio Lato and José Manuel Copete to injury, while Takuma Asano and Iván Cuéllar are rated doubtful. 

As for Barcelona, Flick will also be pondering changes after a major setback at the weekend. Lamine Yamal should return to the eleven, having only featured off the bench on his return from injury on Saturday. Marc Casadó also returns from suspension and should start, while Dani Olmo may rotate back in. 

The visitors are still missing Marc-André ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen and Marc Bernal to injury, while the game may also come too soon for Ansu Fati and Ronald Araújo who are both nearing fitness again. 

Real Mallorca vs Barcelona Odds

Barcelona are the 8/15 favourites to get back to winning ways here. You can back Mallorca at 11/2, while the Draw is priced at 3/1. Converting these prices into implied odds, it shows us that the traders have the visitors having a 65% chance of emerging victorious. The Draw comes in as a 25% possibility and the home win just a 15% chance of happening.

If you see Flick’s side dropping points for the fourth league game in a row, Mallorca or Draw is available at 11/8 in the Double chance market. The hosts are also priced at 21/10 to win either half, while you can back Over 0.5 home goals at 8/13. 

The visitors are available at 6/4 to win the game to nil, while you can back Barcelona and Over 2.5 goals at 13/10. The latter may appeal more, given 10 of the Catalan club’s 11 league victories this term have come in games with three or more goals. 

Unless Flick opts for rotation in the final third, we should see Barça start with their regular front three for the first time since the 5-2 victory at Red Star Belgrade a month ago. You can back Robert Lewandowski to score anytime at 11/10, while Raphinha is on offer at 7/4 and Lamine Yamal is priced at 23/10 in the same market. 

From a home perspective, Muriqi leads the way at 17/2 to score first and 11/4 to score anytime. 

Bet 1 - Half-Time result - Draw @ 5/4 

Mallorca tend to be quite a conservative team by nature and their primary goal here, initially at least, will be to keep things tight defensively and look to prevent the likes of Raphinha and Yamal from finding space on the flanks. 

They’ve certainly shown enough so far this season to suggest they can be really competitive against what is clearly an out of sorts Barcelona right now. They are strong in central defence with Antonio Raíllo doing a good job of marshalling the backline, so at the very least they should be capable of getting a foothold in this game. 

Five of their eight home fixtures this term have been level at the break, and I’m backing the Draw in the Half-Time result market at 5/4 here. 

Bet 2 - Vedat Muriqi 1+ shots on target @ 3/4 

Mallorca held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw at Son Moix earlier this term, with Muriqi powering home a header. With the Kosovo international fresh from missing the last game due to suspension, it’s likely we’ll see the home team look to get as many crosses into the box as possible for their target man to attack. 

The 30-year-old is always a handful and he’s only failed to register a shot on target on one occasion at home so far this season. It will be a real test, particularly for Barcelona’s 17-year-old centre-back Pau Cubarsí, and I fancy the Mallorca frontman to test Iñaki Peña at least once in this game. 

Given that, I’m backing Vedat Muriqi to have 1+ shots on target at 3/4. 

Mark Sochon primarily covers Spanish Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out Mark's La Liga Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...