MD28 of the 2023-24 La Liga season kicks off on Friday night at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Montjuic, where Barcelona host Mallorca. The home side will go into this one in good form, having gone unbeaten in their previous seven matches (W4, D3). However, there are question marks over Xavi Hernandez’s side, especially after the injuries to Frenkie de Jong and Pedri last weekend.
There have been some suggestions that Barcelona could be vulnerable due to their lack of options, and especially so considering they will have one eye on next week’s Champions League showdown with Napoli. However, Mallorca head coach Javier Aguirre doesn’t see it this way, as he told the media (via Estadio Deportivo).
“There have been Barcelona teams in the past that you think you can get your hands on, and then you concede four goals. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they are vulnerable. It’s true that they have important injuries, but do you think that Pau Cubarsi or Lamine Yamal are not going to compete just because they are young?”
“It’s never a good time to go to Barcelona’s pitch to win, even if we’re coming off two good results. They have had better results since Xavi announced his departure. It’s going to be a tough game. The results have boosted our spirits and motivated us to compete. That’s what we’re going to do: compete.”
It should be a keenly-contested occasion in Montjuic. Barcelona are firm favourites, but Mallorca are high on confidence, and they will believe that they can secure a positive result in the Catalan capital.
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