La Liga returns from the COVID-19 hiatus this weekend, and it is hard to imagine a tougher resumption of play for Mallorca than a visit from the La Liga leaders. Barcelona has righted the ship after a rough start to La Liga play and lead the table with 58 points, two points ahead of Real Madrid. Mallorca is in 18th place in the 20-team league and, if the season ended today, would be relegated to Spain’s second division. At 25 points, though, they are only four points out of 15th place, so they can help themselves out with what would be a huge upset win — or even a home draw. Let’s take a look at the La Liga betting odds on this La Liga matchup as you consider your wagers for the weekend.
La Liga: Mallorca vs FC Barcelona (June 13)
- When: Saturday, June 13, 2020, 4:00 pm ET
- Where: Stadio San Paolo, Napoli, Italy
- TV: beIN Sports
- Radio: None
- Live Stream: fuboTV
- La Liga Odds: Mallorca 11.00 / Draw 6.70 / FC Barcelona 1.32
Why should you put your money on Barcelona?
Barcelona last played a La Liga match on March 7 as well, welcoming fifth-place Real Sociedad to Camp Nou. The match looked like it was headed to a scoreless draw until Lionel Messi converted from the spot in the 81st minute. The match showed a considerable amount of balance and conservative tactic, but it also showed that one flaw of the La Liga leaders is the occasional stagnation of the offense. Unless Messi is making a flashy move or capitalizing on a set piece, Barcelona has a hard time scoring goals.
In the match, both teams had 12 shots, but Barcelona put six on frame, while Real Sociedad only threatened once. Barcelona possessed for 58 percent of the match, which was a spirited one, featuring 22 combined fouls and seven yellow cards. The only question I have on the Barcelona side of this wager is how the visitors will look on offense, if they were already having issues in coordination and communication before going into an unprecedented shutdown.
Why should you bet on Mallorca?
Mallorca’s last match came on March 7 and was a 2-1 away win against Eibar. Eibar is just a couple of points ahead of Mallorca in the standings, so that was the type of win that Mallorca will need to get if they plan to stay in La Liga next season. Mallorca opened the scoring just before halftime, as Daniel Rodriguez Vazquez tallied in the 42nd minute. Takefusa Kubo added some insurance in the 78th minute, which turned out to be vital as Eibar pulled back a goal in injury time at the end of the second half, with Pedro Bigas finding the back of the net.
For the match, Eibar possessed the ball for 60 percent of the game and hoisted 12 shots, to just ten for Mallorca. However, Mallorca led in shots on target, 4-2. The match was a physical one, with a combined 24 fouls and seven yellow cards. The fact that Mallorca was able to generate more offense on frame was instrumental in delivering the win. But can Mallorca have similar success in front of an empty stadium against mighty Barcelona?
Mallorca vs Barcelona Final Score Prediction
An interesting feature of the resumption of soccer in empty stadiums, at least so far in the Bundesliga, is that away teams are winning at a significantly better rate than they were winning before the shutdown. Obviously, energy from fans is a considerable part of the game’s energy, but it has been interesting to see the away winning percentage go up. In this particularly match, Barcelona already comes in with a number of advantages, but not having to listen to a crowd of Mallorca faithful just makes their job even easier. Mallorca does not have the talent to keep up with Barcelona, but I also think Barcelona will struggle to get things moving. I predict a final score of Barcelona 1, Mallorca 0.
