La Liga fixtures preview: Barca to show their mettle without Messi
The Catalan club face the test of playing without the Argentine superstar at the Camp Nou against Real Mallorca
The game would be a much easier one for the Blaugrana if it was played earlier this season, as the Catalans prepare for the match without a bunch of key players.
Messi sustained an injury in the Champions League game against Paris St-Germain on Tuesday, opening the score in the quarter-final tie. During the match that ended in a 2-2 draw Barca also lost Javier Mascherano who picked up a serious knee ligament injury.
Both players will miss the weekend’s encounter and Tito Vilanova who returned to his duties this week will have to make shifts in the squad. The most troublesome area is the defense line as Carles Puyol and Adriano are already sidelined. The problems in the line-up are coupled with fatigue of the players who took part in the Champions League game just a few days ago.
At the same time Mallorca is one of the weakest teams in La Liga as the club stand at the bottom of the table and conceded in their last 24 matches. The Islanders impressed in the game at the Bernabeu recently where they netted twice, yet Barca is likely to focus on crashing the side and showing that the game in Paris was merely a mishap.
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