RCD Mallorca (6th, 24pts) vs FC Barcelona (1st, 34pts)
Competition/Round: 2024-25 La Liga, Matchday 19
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Marc-André ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo, Ansu Fati, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal (out)
Mallorca Outs & Doubts: Toni Lato, Iván Cuéllar, José Copete, Takuma Asano (doubt)
Date/Time: Tuesday, December 3, 2024, 7pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 6pm GMT (UK), 1pm ET, 10am PT (USA), 11.30pm IST (India)
Venue: Estadi Son Moix, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano
VAR: Javier Iglesias Villanueva
How to watch on TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), SuperSport (Nigeria), Premier Sports 1 (UK), Movistar (Spain), others
How to watch online: ESPN+ (USA), LaLigaTV (UK), GXR World (India), Movistar+ (Spain), others
Following a surprising and disappointing defeat at home to Las Palmas at the weekend, Barcelona return to action looking to end their three-game winless streak in La Liga when they travel to the beautiful Island of Mallorca to take on high-flying Real Mallorca at Son Moix on Tuesday Night Fútbol.
Barça come into this one still barely hanging on to their position at the top of the table, but the loss at the weekend was certainly the low point of what has been a mostly brilliant season. However, slowly but surely, things are starting to look not as amazing as they did a little over a month ago.
After Barça dominated Bayern Munich and destroyed Real Madrid and were on top of the world, I wrote the following ahead of their next game: “Now things get interesting because Barça are no longer trying to prove themselves; it’s time to handle success, and that is not an easy task either. Plenty of people in all walks of life don’t know how to stay hungry after achieving great success and often self-sabotage in order to get back to a comfort zone where they need to be doubted again, and that’s the only way they can function.
No one is doubting this Barça team anymore, which raises expectations exponentially. They will now be required to beat every single opponent as strongly as they beat Bayern and Real, even though we all know that’s not realistic in a sport as unpredictable as the one we love so much. That won’t change people’s high standards, however, and Barça must live up to those now.
Are they prepared for that?”
The simple fact is Barça weren’t prepared for that, and they’ve been self-sabotaging time and time again in recent weeks. They are not only failing to live up to external expectations, they are not meeting their own standards. They are sloppy in possession, and their once exceptional offside trap is slowly but surely being exploited as teams get better prepared and Barça’s defenders make small mental mistakes that compound and lead to major breakdowns.
There was a level of focus and attention to detail we hadn’t seen from a Barça team in a long, long time, but they are quite simply not as mentally sharp as they were a month ago. Is that arrogance after looking seemingly invincible, is it a natural consequence of having such a young squad, or is just a normal lull that happens to every team in a long season, even those who end up winning trophies at the end of the year?
Only time will tell, but Barça cannot keep dropping points. It’s time for a big response, and Mallorca away is the perfect place to do it: Son Moix has always been a place where Barça have struggled and Mallorca always have the perfect recipe to frustrate the Catalans and make the game a real physical battle where pretty football doesn’t exist and desire and intensity are the deciding factors.
With Lamine Yamal likely back in the starting lineup and Hansi Flick undoubtedly focused on getting the best out of his players once again, Barça have a great opportunity to respond against a team having an amazing season and that will play in the exact way that’s been causing the Blaugrana issues lately.
Mallorca will set up in a low block and look to counter-attack and exploit Barça’s offside trap, and if the visitors can regain their efficiency up front and be mentally sharp at the back once again they will prove that the last three games were the exception, not the rule for what the rest of Barça’s season will look like.
It’s time to show strength and to prove that the 2024/25 version of Barça is not the same as the one from previous years. Mallorca will certainly make it very tough, which should make a strong showing and a good win even more satisfying.
Let’s dance.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Peña; Kounde, Cubarsi, Iñigo, Balde; Casadó, De Jong; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Mallorca (4-4-2): Román; Maffeo, Valjent, Raíllo, Mojica; Darder, Mascarell, Samu, Navarro; Larin, Muriqi
PREDICTION
I still have complete trust in Flick and his team. They have earned it, and I believe they’ll show their best version on Tuesday: 2-0 to the good guys.