Spotlight on Real Club Deportivo Mallorca

PREVIOUS MATCH

The Blaugrana visited Palma de Mallorca for La Liga’s Round 11 showdown with Mallorca. Xavi, Tello and Messi fired FC Barcelona ahead in the first 45 minutes, after the break, Mallorca clawed back within one goal thanks to strikes from Pereira and Víctor (p). Messi doubled Barça’s advantage minutes later, his second of the match was also the goal that put him beyond the mark set by Pelé for goals scored in a calendar year.

FORM GUIDE

From now until the end of the season Manzano's men will be embroiled in a desperate race that no team want to be involved in, climbing out of the relegation zone. Mallorca are 19th on 24 points after 29 matches (9 matches remain until the curtains close on La Liga this season). Of their last five matches, the islanders have claimed victory twice and lost three times. Mallorca defeated Sevilla (2-1) and Granada (1-2), while they succumbed to Deportivo (2-3), Real Madrid (5-2), and Getafe (1-3).


ONES TO WATCH

Tomer Hemed, who is Mallorca’s top scorer in La Liga, will be on hand on Saturday for the showdown at the Camp Nou. The Israeli has featured in 26 of his team’s 29 league matches this season; 20 of them as a starter. Víctor Cásadeús is another danger man that Barça’s defence need to keep tabs on. The Spaniard has netted seven times this season, one of those goals was against Barça, and he’s given two assists.

Saturday will also see two ex-youth academy players return to the Camp Nou. The first is Andreu Fontàs, who joined Manzano’s side in the January transfer window on loan, and Mexican international Giovani dos Santos. Dos Santos was promoted to FC Barcelona’s senior side in the summer of 2007 from Barça B. The following seasonhe set course for north London, where he featured for Tottenham Hotspur for the 2008/09 season. He was later loaned to Ipswich Town, Galatasaray and Racing Santander before he made a permanent move to Mallorca in the summer of 2012.