Mallorca clashes with FC Barcelona in what promises to be a very intriguing La Liga game on January 2. Mallorca is coming off a 4-1 road loss against Granada on December 19 while FC Barcelona had a 1-1 road draw against Sevilla on December 21. FC Barcelona is in seventh place in the La Liga standings with 28 points in 18 games while Mallorca is in 15th place with 20 points in 18 games.
The player to watch in this game is Ousmane Dembélé, who is still after his first goal in five La Liga games this season. Dembélé does have two assists in those games and AccuScore gives him a 25.76 percent chance to score against Mallorca. He has 21 SCA in five La Liga games this season. FBRef defines SCA as “the two offensive actions leading directly to a shot, such as passes, dribbles and drawing fouls.” Let’s take a closer look at where the value is at in this matchup.
DafaNews Picks
Team to Win (Regular Time)
• Mallorca: 4.70
• FC Barcelona: 1.75
• Draw: 3.75
Spread
• Mallorca: +0.5: 2.21
• FC Barcelona: -0.5: 1.75
Total
• Over 2.5: 1.95
• Under 2.5: 1.95
Key Points to Consider
Last 5: Mallorca, coming off a 4-1 road loss against Granada on December 19, have 2 losses, 2 draws and 1 win in their last 5 La Liga games. FC Barcelona, coming off a 1-1 road draw against Sevilla on December 21, have 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in their last 5 La Liga games.
Momentum: Mallorca has been on a downward trend — winning 1 of their last 5 La Liga games.
Head-to-Head: These two sides last matched up in La Liga action on June 13, 2020 and FC Barcelona won 4-0.
Projected Leaders
For Mallorca, Lee Kang-in has a 10.72 percent chance to score. He averages 0.52 shots overall per sim, 0.29 shots on goal per and 0.11 goals per sim.
For FC Barcelona, Ousmane Dembélé has a 25.76 percent chance to net the ball. He averages 1.84 shots overall per sim, 0.78 shots on goal per and 0.3 goals per sim.
Analyst’s Pick
FC Barcelona -0.5.
Four-star (out of four) AccuScore hot trend pick on FC Barcelona in this one. Average score in simulations is FC Barcelona 1.44 to Mallorca 0.53.
