Barcelona lost a huge chunk of their advantage at the top of LaLiga after suffering defeat against Las Palmas on Saturday. That was the third consecutive league match they failed to win, and that record may well continue on Tuesday in Mallorca.
By Neel Shelat
Arrasate’s instant impact at Mallorca
Jagobe Arrasate has to be considered something of a mid-table magician. After a successful few years at Osasuna during which he took the club from the second tier all the way to a brief European tour, the 46-year-old Spaniard has picked up right where he left off after a move to Mallorca in the summer.
The Pirates’ squad was naturally quite well-suited to his style of play, so they instantly clicked. Hardworking striker Vedat Muriqi is key in making his direct aerial ball-intensive possession-play work, but the rest of the side have just as much to do in order to ensure that the defence is rock solid. They have been fantastic so far, having conceded the third-lowest xG conceded tally in La Liga.
With such a strong defence and a direct attacking approach, Arrasate’s side are sure to give Barcelona a tough test.
Lack of depth finally catching up to Barcelona
With 11 wins in their first 12 games in LaLiga this season, Barcelona could hardly have gotten off to a better start under new head coach Hansi Flick. There certainly were a lot of positives in that run of results, but as we analysed at the time, their lack of appropriate squad depth always left them susceptible to a drop-off sooner or later.
They seem to be suffering from that already having won their last league match exactly a month ago. After the 3-1 success against Espanyol, they suffered a deserved defeat against a relatively underperforming Real Sociedad, conceded twice late on against Celta Vigo to throw away a two-goal lead after receiving a red card, and were beaten by a more clinical Las Palmas side this weekend.
On the bright side, Barcelona at least have not seen any significant additions to their injury list in this run of fixtures. Left back Alejandro Balde did have to be taken off on the weekend after a hefty collision, but he does not seem to have suffered any long-term damage.
Flick will hope that the imminently returning Ronald Araújo and Andreas Christensen can help shore up a defence that has kept just one clean sheet in the last six games, though his incredibly high defensive line arguably is to blame for that more than any individual. Either way, those two players are not expected to feature in this fixture, so young Pau Cubarsí will have to deal with another tough test alongside centre-back partner Iñigo Martínez.
Prediction
Even before Arrasate’s arrival, Mallorca have hardly been pushovers for Barcelona of late. They have not beaten the Blaugrana since 2009, though, so a win would certainly be quite a big shock. A score draw or a very narrow Barcelona win are the likeliest results.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every game from LaLiga live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.