Mallorca vs Barcelona: Why Unregistered Players Leave Xavi Short of Options

Levante will welcome Barcelona to the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia for a highly anticipated LaLiga clash on Saturday, August 23, 2025, at 22:30 East Africa Time.

The match, officiated by referee Alejandro Hernandez, marks the second round of the 2025/2026 LaLiga season.

Both teams enter the fixture with contrasting fortunes from their opening matches, setting the stage for an intriguing battle as Levante seeks their first points of the campaign against a Barcelona side that impressed in their season opener.

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Barcelona has made a strong start to the LaLiga campaign, sitting in second place with three points after their convincing opening day victory.

The Catalans demonstrated their attacking prowess by scoring three goals without conceding, positioning themselves as early title contenders.

Meanwhile, Levante occupies 15th position after suffering defeat in their first match, leaving them without points and already facing pressure to improve their standing.

A win for Barcelona would strengthen their position near the top of the table, while Levante desperately needs a positive result to climb away from the lower reaches of the standings and kickstart their season.

Levante enters this fixture with mixed form, having won two, drawn one, and lost two of their last five matches across all competitions.

Their LaLiga campaign began with disappointment as they fell 2:1 to Deportivo Alaves on August 16, 2025. Prior to that, they showed promise in pre-season friendlies, securing victories against Auxerre (0:2 on August 9) and Neom SC (0:2 on July 26), while drawing with Al Qadasiya (0:0 on July 31) and losing to Castellon (2:0 on August 8).

Barcelona, meanwhile, has been in imperious form, winning all five of their recent matches. They began their LaLiga campaign with an emphatic 0:3 victory against Mallorca on August 16, following impressive pre-season wins against Como (5:0 on August 10), Daegu FC (0:5 on August 4), FC Seoul (3:7 on July 31), and Vissel Kobe (1:3 on July 27). Currently sitting 2nd in the league, Barcelona's perfect record contrasts sharply with Levante's 15th position.

The historical matchups between these teams have consistently produced entertaining encounters, with Barcelona holding the upper hand.

In their last five meetings, Barcelona has won three times, drawn once, and lost once against Levante. Their most recent clash came on April 10, 2022, at Estadio Ciudad de Valencia, where Barcelona secured a dramatic 2:3 victory with Luuk de Jong scoring a 90th-minute winner after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Pedro Gonzales Lopez had earlier found the net for the Catalans, while Jose Luis Morales and Gonzalo Melero both converted penalties for Levante.

The previous encounter at Camp Nou saw Barcelona comfortably win 3:0 with goals from Memphis Depay, Luuk de Jong, and Anssumane Fati.

Perhaps the most thrilling recent contest was a 3:3 draw at Estadio Ciudad de Valencia on May 11, 2021, where Levante fought back from 0:2 down with goals from Gonzalo Melero, Jose Luis Morales, and Sergio Leon canceling out strikes from Lionel Messi, Pedro Gonzales Lopez, and Ousmane Dembele.

Mallorca are likely to be without Samu Costa, who is sidelined through injury, but otherwise the squad is in good condition. That leaves head coach Arrasate with several important selection decisions to make.

Vedat Muriqi is expected to lead the line, while new signing Torre could make his debut against his former club. Sergi Darder and Takuma Asano are also set to feature in advanced areas, with Manu Morlanes and Omar Mascarell providing balance in central midfield.

Barcelona, meanwhile, are still without Marc-André ter Stegen, who is recovering from a long-term back problem, and Robert Lewandowski, who is nursing a muscular issue. On the positive side, Dani Olmo has returned to fitness and is available.

New arrivals Joan Garcia and Marcus Rashford have both been registered in time to feature this weekend. However, Bardghji, Gerard Martin, Marc Bernal, and Wojciech Szczesny remain ineligible as their registrations have not yet been completed.

Fermín López is tipped to start in the number 10 role, with Ferran Torres also expected to be included in the XI. Olmo, despite being available, may have to settle for a place on the bench.

Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Garcia; Eric, Araujo, Cubarsí, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Ferran

Levante (5-3-2): Cuñat; Toljan, De La Fuente, Elgezabal, Cabello, Sánchez; Álvarez, Rey, Martínez; Romero, Brugué