Mallorca vs Barcelona Odds
| Mallorca Odds | +500 |
| Barcelona Odds | -200 |
| Draw | +333 |
| Over / Under | 2.5 -111 / -111 |
Friday night in La Liga returns for Matchday 28 this week with the game between Barcelona and Mallorca at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys Stadium.
The hosts could take sole possession of second in the league standings and move to within five points of rival Real Madrid. Meanwhile, the island club is hoping to match its league form with its recent cup run to stay in the Spanish top flight.
Both clubs have big tournament games upcoming, but we will focus on a league fixture first that shows great betting value in the prop market. Let's dive into our Barcelona vs. Mallorca prediction and pick.
Barcelona
Can Xavi end his tenure as manager with a trophy? The former Barcelona midfielder only has two opportunities before he leaves his post in the summer.
The Catalan club comes into this matchweek eight points behind Real Madrid in the La Liga table. That isn’t too much to overturn, but it will be an uphill battle.
Xavi’s side is still in the Champions League, bringing home a 1-1 aggregate score to the second leg of the Round of 16 tie against Napoli on Tuesday.
Unfortunately, Xavi will be without multiple key midfielders in Gavi, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri, but he should still have enough to get a result here at home.
Mallorca
There is no other way to put it: This is a magical run that Javier Aguirre has led the club on to reach the Copa del Rey final. For Mallorca, it is the club’s third trip to the title game of the competition, with the last coming when it lifted the trophy in 2003. The island club has also made the Supercopa de España final on two occasions and won that tournament in 1998.
One thing you always worry about when a smaller side goes on a cup run is whether it may impact its league form. With Mallorca eight points above the relegation zone, there is no need to panic. However, Aguirre will want to grow that gap to avoid a stressful end to the campaign.
Barcelona vs Mallorca
Prediction
If you have followed Barcelona league matches, you know they tend to be high-scoring. I don’t see any betting value on the total or side, but I do see a profitable trend on when those goals happen.
My best bet is for the second half to be the half with the most goals at +105 odds at Bet365.
Starting first with the host, this same bet would have cashed in 12 of Barcelona’s 14 La Liga home matches this season. The first half of the Catalan club’s home fixtures have only had 15 goals in total. This is less than half of the number of scores after halftime (36).
You also see this type of split for Mallorca. In the first halves of road games, there have only been 14 goals. This is much less than the 20 goals off the island in the second half of La Liga matches. Aguirre’s team has also failed to score in the opening period in 77% of road games.
I expect Mallorca to sit back in a low block, and it could take some time for Xavi’s attack to find an opening. Hopefully, those scoring opportunities come after halftime.
Pick: Half with Most Goals – Second (+105)
