It’s a rare Friday night game for Barcelona, as they host Real Mallorca in a 21:00 CEST kick-off. The Blaugrana will be hoping to cut the gap to Real Madrid down to five points ahead of their match with Celta Vigo, but Xavi Hernandez might well take a simple win without injuries over a good performance, as they have one eye on Napoli this Tuesday.
Real Mallorca are high on confidence, having made it to the Copa del Rey final and then knocked off Girona in successive weeks, and are expected to continue with their usual five at the back formation. Vedat Muriqi will lead the line and Sergi Darder is also expected to start. Martin Valjent and Pablo Maffeo are injured, and Omar Mascarell is suspended.
As per Sport, Barcelona will start with Pau Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez at the back, the latter replacing the suspended Ronald Araujo. Fermin Lopez and Joao Felix are expected to come in for Frenkie de Jong and Pedri, who miss out through injury.
Meanwhile MD go with the exact same Barcelona line-up. Lamine Yamal has reportedly suffered from knee discomfort, and will start on the bench again. Should Barcelona win, they can also overtake Girona before they face Real Mallorca on Saturday night.
In addition to the aforementioned absences, Gavi, Alejandro Balde and Ferran Torres are also missing.
🚨 Today, a delegation from Puma, including their CEO, visited Barcelona and met with Joan Laporta, Rafa Yuste, and Manana Giorgadze. All scenarios were evaluated, suggesting Puma might become sponsors for the 2025-26 season. The club has the option to continue with Nike or… pic.twitter.com/F62vGOy1bW
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 7, 2024
