La Liga Betting Preview: Mallorca vs Barcelona
La Liga champions Barcelona make their 2025–26 season debut with a visit to Mallorca looking to set the tone of their title defense.
Hansi Flick’s debut season with Barcelona couldn’t have gone much better. The Catalans dominated Spanish soccer in 2024–25. After a ferocious preseason, the expectation is to replicate that success.
Mallorca entered 2024–25 on a mission to avoid relegation in Jagoba Arrasate’s first year on the touchline. They did that and then some, finishing 10th in La Liga and even threatening to finish in the European competition places for much of the season.
Mallorca vs Barcelona in La Liga since Pep Guardiola’s debut season as manager in 2008–09. Given the gap in quality between the two sides, the expectation is for the positive streak to continue for the Catalans.
Here’s Sports Illustrated’s guide to hansi flick Barcelona’s 2025–26 La Liga debut.
Mallorca played out a 0-0 draw in their last La Liga game. This was away from home at Estadio de Vallecas against Rayo Vallecano. The Palma team recorded two shots on target and had 43% possession.
Barcelona won their previous league game by a 3-0 scoreline. It was away from home against Athletic Club at San Mamés. Los Culés boasted a mind-boggling 76% of possession and recorded four shots on goal, while Robert Lewandowski was on the scoresheet twice and Dani Olmo also found the net.
Head-to-Head
It’s been three victories on the bounce for Barca when playing Mallorca. Their last encounter took place at Estadio Olimpico Lluis Companys and Barca secured a 1-0 home win. The past 10 H2H matches have included nine Barca wins along with a single draw.
Current form
Mallorca have 2 wins, 6 losses and 2 draws, averaging 0.7 goals from 1.8 shots on goal and 7.5 attempts. The Palma outfit have averaged 47.5% possession, 389.6 passes and 2.9 corners per match, conceding 1.0 goals and 8.7 corners from 6.3 shots on goal and 18.5 attempts.
The three top scorers are Cyle Larin, Martin Valjent and Sergi Darder, with these players all scoring 2 goals. Sergi Darder is the top assists maker on 3, with goalie Dominik Greif managing 3 clean sheets.
Barca have won 8, lost 1 and drawn 1, with an average of 19.8 attempts, 7.0 shots on goal and 2.4 goals. Hans-Dieter Flick’s men average 72.2% possession, 679.2 passes, 8.2 corners in their favour and 2.6 corners against, while 1.2 goals have been conceded from 2.8 shots on goal and 6.7 attempts.
Raphinha got 5 goals, Robert Lewandowski notched 4, while Dani Olmo and two other players scored 3. Ferran Torres leads the way with 4 assists, while Wojciech Szczesny, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Inaki Pena have notched 4 clean sheets between them in the previous 10 games.
Formation
Mallorca predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Leo Roman (GK), Mateu Morey, Martin Valjent, Antonio Raillo, Johan Mojica, Omar Mascarell, Manu Morlanes, Takuma Asano, Sergi Darder, Pablo Torre, Vedat Muriqi.
Barcelona predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Joan Garcia (GK), Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Raphinha, Ferran Torres.
Prediction
Betting on Barcelona -1.25 at odds of 1.95 means that we’ll land a return if the favourites win by two or more goals in this La Liga clash. We expect them to have the edge in this contest.
Our La Liga experts like to go through the form guide, with injuries and suspensions also having a bearing on the match. Before making our football predictions, we combine this information with the latest numbers.
Key Mallorca vs Barcelona league stats:
