Who: Mallorca vs Barcelona
What: Spanish La Liga
Where: Estadi Mallorca Son Moix in Mallorca, Spain
When: Saturday at 7:30pm (17:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 4:30pm (15:30 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream.
Barcelona begin their defence of their La Liga title on Saturday after flying to the island of Mallorca.
The Catalan club disposed of their fierce rivals and winners of the previous year’s title, Real Madrid, on all fronts last season.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the first major match of the new La Liga season and what clues there may be as to whether Barca will give Real a glimpse of hope in the title race this time around.
How dominant were Barcelona last season?
The Catalan club is coming off one of its best seasons in years, having won the league, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup. It also went deep in the Champions League, reaching the semifinals for the first time since 2019.
How big a role will Marcus Rashford play at Barcelona?
In its second year under coach Hansi Flick, the Catalan club will try to add to its success from last season by boosting its squad with Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United. He will be teaming up with Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski in an attacking front that was one of the best in Europe last season.
It led the scoring charts both in the Spanish league – with more than 100 goals – and in the Champions League.
With Lewandowski set to miss the start of the new season, Rashford will vie with Ferran Torres for a place in Barca’s attack.
Advertisement
After Rashford fell down the pecking order at Old Trafford, his move to Barcelona presents a huge chance to rebuild his career.
What other changes have Barcelona made?
Leaving the team are veteran defender Inigo Martínez, who has signed with Saudi club Al-Nassr, and Ansu Fati, who went on loan to Monaco after not playing much last season.
How many La Liga titles have Barcelona won?
Last season’s title was Barcelona’s 28th trophy lift in La Liga. Real Madrid are the record winners with 36 victories to their name.
Has Mallorca ever beaten Barcelona?
Yes. The Spanish islanders have won 17 of their 75 meetings. Barca, however, have won 44 of the encounters.
Where did Mallorca finish last season?
Mallorca squeezed into the top half of La Liga last season with a 10th-placed finish.
Only one team had a worse home record among the top 12 teams last season after Mallorca recorded only seven wins in 19 league matches in front of their own crowd. Six of those games resulted in defeats.
What happened the last time Barcelona met Mallorca?
Barca narrowly beat Mallorca 1-0 at home in their last meeting in April. Dani Olmo scored the only goal in the first minute of the second half to settle the La Liga match.
The corresponding fixture resulted in a 5-1 win for Barca with Raphinha netting twice.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick’s prematch thoughts
“We are working hard to face this new season. Winning three titles last year is not the end – it’s a continuation. We will give everything this year.
“Lamine Yamal still has room to improve. I like what I’m seeing. He’s training very well, with and without the ball, defending and pressing.”
Head-to-head
Mallorca have not defeated Barcelona since May 2009 – a 2-1 home win in an end-of-season affair in La Liga.
Barca, meanwhile, have won 14 of their last 15 matches against Mallorca in all competitions.
Mallorca team news
Pablo Maffeo will be heavily missed in defence due to a hamstring injury.
Pablo Torre is set to start against his former side, having joined from Barcelona in the summer window. Spain Under-21 international Mateo Joseph is also in line to feature, having joined on loan from Leeds United.
Advertisement
Omar Mascarell has a suspension hanging over from last season after his booking in the final game of the last La Liga campaign.
Barcelona team news
The Catalan club starts the season without veteran goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen because of surgery for lower back problems.
The goalkeeper was at odds with the club about his recovery time. He was provisionally stripped of his captaincy for refusing to sign a medical report about the injury, but he and the club eventually reached an agreement that restored his role as captain.
Veteran striker Lewandowski also isn’t expected to play early in the new campaign because of a muscle issue. Rashford’s registration after his loan from Manchester United has proved problematic, similar to the financial issues that held up Dani Olmo’s participation last season.
Mallorca predicted starting lineup
Greif; Morey, Lopez, Raillo, Lato; Sanchez, Costa, Torre, Darder; Muriqi, Joseph
Barcelona predicted starting lineup
Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Balde; de Jong, Pedri, Olmo; Lamine Yamal, Torres, Raphinha