Real Madrid did not falter, and the fight for the league title continues for Barça, who do not want to slip up if they are to take another step towards the championship and reach the Copa del Rey final with confidence after a couple of difficult games. They will be looking to do so against Mallorca on Tuesday at Montjuic.
Barça’s impressive run of 24 games without defeat came to an end against Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. Despite the defeat and a poor performance, Barça are in the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in six years, where they will face Inter. Barça never looked in danger of being knocked out after their convincing 4-0 win in the first leg.
In La Liga, Barça staged a spectacular comeback on Saturday at Montjuïc, beating Celta 4-3 in a thrilling game full of twists and turns that was decided in added time with a penalty converted by Brazilian Raphinha. The striker was the key figure in a match in which Celta, with a hat-trick from Borja Iglesias, took a 3-1 lead.
For their part, Mallorca are dreaming of playing in Europe next season and will fight until the end to achieve their goal. Jagoba Arrasate‘s team needs to score against the Azulgranas to avoid losing ground and stay in the fight. This is even more important after Mallorca and Leganés drew 0-0 on Saturday, slowing down the Balearic team, which wasted the opportunity to secure a place in Europe after its direct rivals slipped up.
Flick’s absences
Ter Stegen and Marc Bernal had already missed the season. In addition, Marc Casadó is also out, and the latest to join the list of absentees is Alejandro Balde, who is expected to return for the Champions League semi-finals. The latest to fall in the Barça squad is Lewandowski, who left with a muscle injury and will be out for at least a couple of weeks. It remains to be seen which of his alternatives Flick will choose to replace him.
Possible Barça XI
Goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczęsny
Defenders: Jules Koundé, Inigo Martínez or Ronald Araújo, Pau Cubarsí, Gerard Martín
Midfielders: Frenkie de Jong, Pedri Fermín López or Dani Olmo
Forwards: Lamine Yamal, Raphinha; Ferran Torres
Arrasate with injuries
Several players are injured at Mallorca: Manu Morlanes, Asano, Robert Navarro, and Vedat Muriqi. According to Arrasate, none of them are expected to be available for this midweek match, but they should be back for matchday 34.
Possible Mallorca XI
Goalkeeper: Greff
Defenders: Mojica, Copete, Raillo, Valjent, Morey
Midfielders: Darder, Costa, Mascarell, A. Sánchez
Forward: Larin