As the sports world starts to get back to normal, the Spanish La Liga joins the fray this weekend for the final 11 games of the season.

Matchday 28 gets underway this weekend and one of the matches features league leaders Barcelona taking on relegation candidate Mallorca. The match will be held at the Estadio de Son Moix on Saturday, June 13, 2020. The match will air live on beIN Sports at 3:50 p.m. EST.

Unlike last season where they ran away with the La Liga title, the defending champions will need to hit the ground running here as rivals Real Madrid are just two points behind them in the standings. On the other hand, Mallorca are fighting for their La Liga lives and while they are down in the standings, they showed improvement before the lockdown by picking up seven points in their last four games.

Soccer Mallorca

Mallorca enters matchday 28 in 18th place with 25 points from seven wins, four draws, and 16 losses. They are currently occupying one of the three relegation spots however, they are just a solitary point away from Celta Vigo and safety. They are also close to Eibar (27 points) and Valladolid (29 points) so anything can still happen for this squad.

Mallorca picked up a big road win when they traveled to Eibar and emerged with a 2-1 victory. They scored a goal in each half to hold off a late challenge by the home team and preserve a one-goal win. Mallorca has not lost in its last five matches played with two victories and they are looking to keep that form going as the season resumes.

Forward Ane Budmir leads the team in scoring with nine goals scored on the season. Midfielder Dani is the second best scorer with five goals this season while Lago Junior has netted four times this year. Salva Sevilla has a team-high three assists with three goals while Febas and Budmir have contributed 3 and 2 assists, respectively.

Mallorca ranks 15th in La Liga in goal scoring with a total of 28 goals scored this season. They are just 19th in goals conceded with already 44 goals allowed this term. They are tied for 16th in assists with 16 on the year and they are 18th in goal difference at -18.

What are the Moneyline Odds?

Mallorca

+850

Barcelona

-360

Draw

+475

Odds from Bovada as of 06/11/2020

Soccer Barcelona

Barcelona enters this match as the #1 team in the Spanish top flight. Barca lead the table with a total of 58 points earned from 18 wins, 4 draws, and five losses. They are currently just two points ahead of rivals Real Madrid although that cushion is really just a point since tiebreakers are decided by head-to-head matchup and Real won at home while drawing their away fixture.

Before the forced shutdown, Barcelona picked up a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad. Lionel Messi netted on an 81st-minute penalty to enable Barca to pick up three points. They have lost just once in their last five games with three wins.

Superstar Lionel Messi leads Barcelona in scoring with a total of 19 goals on the season. Luis Suarez is also having a fantastic year with 11 goals scored and Antoine Grieizmann has added 8 goals this term. Messi and Suarez also top the team in assists with a total of 12 and 7, respectively.

Barca leads the Spanish La Liga in scoring with a total of 63 goals scored this year. They are ranked 6th when it comes to goals conceded at 31 goals allowed this term. Barcelona is also the league’s top passing team with a total of 46 assists on the year and their +32 goal difference is also #1 in Spain.

Soccer Who Wins?

These two teams have met in a total of 64 matches and Barcelona has a commanding lead in their all-time head-to-head matchup 36-12-16. Barca thrashed Mallorca 5-2 earlier this season. The Blaugrana were up as 4-1 at the half and cruised in the second half to pick up the three points. Messi scored a hat trick while Suarez and Griezmann also scored one goal each in that contest.

Messi suffered a leg injury while training during the COVID-19 break. However, Quique Setien recently revealed that the forward is in full health and ready to play in this match. The Argentine returned to practice only this week so there is still a chance that Setien will play it safe with the soon to be 33-year old, given his injury history.

The long break has also allowed Barcelona star Luis Suarez to recover from a knee injury that would have sidelined him for the rest of the 2019-20 season. Suarez has been training with the group and expected to start against Mallorca. However, Barcelona will still be without Ousmane Dembele in this contest.

Mallorca has allowed the second-most goals this season and they are up against a powerhouse Barcelona team that will most probably have their top weapons. Messi terrorized them with a hat trick last December and if he plays here, expect the same kind of performance from the Argentine star. Even if Barca plays without their top scorer, they still have more than enough to win this contest, especially with Suarez back.

Prediction: Barcelona

Alternate Bet

What are the Totals Odds?

Over 3.5

-105

Under 3.5

-115

Odds from Bovada as of 06/11/2020

Four out of the last five matches between these teams have yielded a total of at least five goals with Barcelona scoring at least four points in those four matches. Five of the last head to head meetings between these teams have produced over 2.5 goals scored. Barca is averaging 2.3 goals per game in La Liga play but they are also conceding 1.1 goals per match on defense. Don’t expect this one to be a low-scoring affair.

Prediction: Over 3.5 goals

Place Your Bet Here

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