Without Xavi, Carles Puyol and Victor Valdez, Barcelona visits Mallorca to maintain the top position.
Pep Guardiola is chasing two rabbits at the same time, but the dual fight might be a burden too heavy for the Cule squad to deal with. Real Madrid is not demoralized by the five-points advantage of the leaders and will try to take advantage of the slightest misstep to jeopardize Barcelona's leadership.
Mallorca will be the first rival, and Michael Laudrup's Bermellones should not be taken for granted, especially when playing at home. Mallorca claimed 23 points so far at the Iberostar Stadium, over 70% of the points obtained in the whole tournament. Barcelona will have to do without four key players, as Daniel Alves is ruled out due to disciplinary action while Xavi, Puyol and Valdez are struggling with injuries.
At least Guardiola recovers Jeffren Suarez, who's been sidelined for over a month. His presence allows Barcelona's coach to introduce rotation in his squad, something he's clearly considering as he's called Thiago Alcantara, Ruben Miño and Martin Montoya from the young squad.
The final thirty minutes against Bilbao showed the best of Guardiola's Barcelona, with Lio Messi and Andres Iniesta associating with Dani Alves from the wings, finding open spaces in the opposite defense.
But the rest of the game showed a truly disharmonious Barcelona: Javier Mascherano was inaccurate and though he didn't fail on recovering the ball, he could not become the engine of the team. Gerard Pique's performance was rather disappointing, Messi was merely a shadow of himself, and David Villa could not lead the attack on his own.
One of Guardiola's main concerns is that his team finds the same problems without the Brazilian winger opening the game from the wings. Adriano will take over his place, boosting the attack from the right wing. Seydou Keita and Sergio Busquests will control the center of the field while Iniesta becomes the engine that links the defense with Barcelona's offensive trident, Messi, Pedro and Villa.
Lio Messi wants to score his 26th goal in La Liga this season to leapfrog Cristiano Ronaldo and claim the top of the striking table for his own. It's been three years since Mallorca lastly defeated Barcelona at home, will they stop Guardiola's Blaugranas from bagging the full scoring at the Iberostar Stadium?
Mallorca will be the first rival, and Michael Laudrup's Bermellones should not be taken for granted, especially when playing at home. Mallorca claimed 23 points so far at the Iberostar Stadium, over 70% of the points obtained in the whole tournament. Barcelona will have to do without four key players, as Daniel Alves is ruled out due to disciplinary action while Xavi, Puyol and Valdez are struggling with injuries.
At least Guardiola recovers Jeffren Suarez, who's been sidelined for over a month. His presence allows Barcelona's coach to introduce rotation in his squad, something he's clearly considering as he's called Thiago Alcantara, Ruben Miño and Martin Montoya from the young squad.
The final thirty minutes against Bilbao showed the best of Guardiola's Barcelona, with Lio Messi and Andres Iniesta associating with Dani Alves from the wings, finding open spaces in the opposite defense.
But the rest of the game showed a truly disharmonious Barcelona: Javier Mascherano was inaccurate and though he didn't fail on recovering the ball, he could not become the engine of the team. Gerard Pique's performance was rather disappointing, Messi was merely a shadow of himself, and David Villa could not lead the attack on his own.
One of Guardiola's main concerns is that his team finds the same problems without the Brazilian winger opening the game from the wings. Adriano will take over his place, boosting the attack from the right wing. Seydou Keita and Sergio Busquests will control the center of the field while Iniesta becomes the engine that links the defense with Barcelona's offensive trident, Messi, Pedro and Villa.
Lio Messi wants to score his 26th goal in La Liga this season to leapfrog Cristiano Ronaldo and claim the top of the striking table for his own. It's been three years since Mallorca lastly defeated Barcelona at home, will they stop Guardiola's Blaugranas from bagging the full scoring at the Iberostar Stadium?
