Magical Messi can pile more misery on Mallorca
Mallorca excelled themselves when earning a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou last season, but the Islanders are struggling in La Liga this time round, and it’s hard to envisage anything but a comfortable victory for Barcelona tonight.
The Blaugrana have yet to concede a league goal in Catalonia this season, and have scored no less than 21 times in the quintet of home matches played in the Spanish top-flight during the current campaign. In fact, Barca haven’t conceded in their last seven overall, and while they were held to a draw by Sevilla last weekend, they have otherwise looked as imperious as ever.
Pep Guardiola’s men will be buoyed by the return of Cesc Fabregas who is likely to start, particularly with Pedro sidelined. Gerard Pique is still out of action, but Javier Mascherano has proved himself an able deputy in the heart of defence.
Lionel Messi has already netted 10 league goals for the reigning Spanish and European champions; Cristiano Ronaldo has also scored 10 times, but three of those were penalties whereas all of the Argentinean’s goals have come from open play. Backing Messi to score first is hardly original, but at 2.88 with bet365 that rates a pretty good bet in my opinion.
This game will probably result in a 3-0 or 4-0 win for Barcelona. The sheer class of the Catalan side’s midfield will overwhelm the visitors who appear to be low on confidence and short of ideas in their matches for the most part this season.