Barcelona in a Battle for Second Place on La Liga Table, Host RCD Mallorca Side Looking to Avoid Relegation

Barcelona in a Battle for Second Place on La Liga Table, Host RCD Mallorca Side Looking to Avoid Relegation

Byron Pillay
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:01 PM
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  • Barcelona can still finish second in La Liga ahead of Sevilla and Atletico Madrid and behind Real Madrid
  • RCD Mallorca are hoping to not get into a relegation battle with five games remaining in the season
  • Barcelona will host RCD Mallorca at the Nou Camp a day after Real Madrid wrapped up the La Liga title

Barcelona host RCD Mallorca in what promises to be an exciting La Liga encounter later this evening.

Both teams have a lot to play for at either end of the league table.

Barcelona, Battle, Second Place, La Liga, RCD Mallorca, Relegation, Soccer, Spain, Xavi, Javier Aguirre
Javier Aguirre's Mallorca needs to pick up a good win against Xavi's Barcelona side if they are to avoid getting dragged into a relegation battle. Image: Cristian Trujillo/ Eric Alonso
Source: Getty Images

Barcelona’s slim chances of winning La Liga were dashed by Real Madrid’s victory yesterday, but the Catalan side still have the incentive to finish the season strong.

The Blaugrana still have a chance to finish second behind Los Blancos and secure a UEFA Champions League place.

They are currently third on the table, one point behind Sevilla, who played a game more. Atletico Madrid is two points behind Xavi’s side.

Sevilla jumped up to the second place with a draw again Cadiz on Friday night, Firstpost reported.

Mallorca finds themselves at the other end of the table, trying to avoid relegation. However, Mallorca is only two points above Granada, the highest relegation-threatened team, with five games to play.

Team news for Barcelona and Mallorca

Barcelona have a few players unavailable for the clash as Martin Braithwaite, and Oscar Mingueza tested positive for Covid-19. In addition, Sergi Roberto, Sergino Dest and Pedri are also unavailable.

Mallorca will be without Jaume Costa, Aleksandar Sedlar and Dominik Greif. Vedat Muriqi will also be unavailable due to suspension, SportsMole confirmed.

Predicted line-ups for Barcelona and Mallorca

Barcelona:

Ter Stegen; Alves, Araujo, Pique, Alba; F de Jong, Busquets, Gavi; Dembele, Aubameyang, Torres

Mallorca:

Rico; Maffeo, Valjent, Raillo, Olivan; Kubo, Baba, Sevilla, Rodriguez; Kang-in; Prats

Barcelona superstars enjoy barbecue ahead of La Liga clash against Mallorca

Dutch-born Ghanaian forward Memphis Depay and his Barcelona teammates enjoyed a break from the rigours of the La Liga on Thursday as they enjoyed a barbecue together, Sports Brief reported.

With the Catalan club not in action until Sunday’s Primera Division showdown with Mallorca at Camp Nou, Depay and his friends enjoyed a fresco meal.

The Netherlands forward was pictured all smiles with Dani Alves, Sergio Busquets, and Ferran Torres after having a bite to eat. Also in attendance at the team bonding session were manager Xavi Hernandez and club Barcelona president Joan Laporta.

Authors
Byron Pillay photo
Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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