PREVIEW | RCD Mallorca v FC Barcelona

Last Saturday it looked like Barça were heading for a major setback at home to Celta. But an amazing recovery right at the end turned 2-0 defeat into 3-2 victory, and what's more, following the Madrid derby the day after, the Catalans were confirmed as the new league leaders!

But having had barely any time to let it all sink in, Barça are now jetting over the Med to pay a Tuesday night visit to Mallorca.

How it stands

Barça now top the table, but only on goal difference ahead of their fellow Catalans from Girona, whose magnificent start to the season has also produced 16 points from a possible 18. They next visit Villarreal on Wednesday night.

Having dropped their first points of the season in a 3-1 loss at the home of local rivals Atlético, Real Madrid have slumped for first to third and will be keen to make amends when they entertain Las Palmas on Wednesday. Athletic Club have also started strongly, and they're at home to Getafe next.

Head to head

This is not a fixture that has always gone too well for the team in blaugrana. On 31 visits to Mallorca in the past, the home side have claimed victory no fewer than ten times. But in recent years, the trend has very much been in Barça favour. They have won their last seven league games on the island, and in six of those they kept a clean sheet.

The last time Mallorca beat Barça was way back in 2009, and that was a fairly meaningless encounter played after the title had already been sewn up and with coach Pep Guardiola's mind more focused on the upcoming Champions League Final.

Team news

In theory there are problems in midfield. With Pedri already out, matters have been made worse by the loss of Frenkie de Jong to an ankle injury early in Saturday's match. But as Xavi pointed out in his pregame conference, Barça have an embarrassment of riches in the middle of the park, and there is top quality cover for both of those absences.

Mallorca form guide

Mallorca come into the game on the back of a 5-3 drubbing at the hands of Girona, which brought them straight back down to earth after picking up their first win of the season the week before, 1-0 at the home of Celta (the same team that gave Barça such a nasty scare last week).

This is just the third game that the side coached by experienced Mexican Javier Aguirre will have played at home this season, and Son Moix is still waiting to witness its first goal after a 1-0 loss to Villarreal and a 0-0 draw with Athletic Club.

Xavi says

While praising his own team for their exceptional versatility, the Barça coach also had much to say about Mallorca in his pre-match press conference, explaining in depth why this could be one of the trickiest away games of the season: