Barcelona has chance to move four clear in La Liga but needs to beware Muriqi threat

MADRID, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- La Liga leader FC Barcelona has the chance to open a four-point gap over Real Madrid at the top of the table on Saturday if Hansi Flick's side is able to beat Mallorca before Real Madrid's visit to Valencia.

Barcelona goes into the game after qualifying for the semifinals of the Copa del Rey with a 2-1 win away to second division, Albacete on Tuesday night, while Mallorca climbed out of the relegation zone with a convincing 4-1 win at home to Sevilla on Monday.

Flick is still without long-term absentees Gavi and Andreas Christensen for the game, while Pedri is still recovering from his muscle injury and the coach is likely to reserve Raphinha for the first leg of the Copa del Rey against Atletico Madrid, which is likely to be next Wednesday.

"I'm very happy with the style of play we're using. That's the most important thing. We also need to be more focused on finishing our attacks," commented Flick at Friday's press conference.

Mallorca has two former Barcelona players in its side, with winger Jan Virgili impressing in his first season after leaving the Camp Nou. Barcelona maintains half of Virgili's rights and the 19-year-old will step onto the pitch on Saturday knowing a good performance could book him a return ticket for next season.

Pablo Torre hasn't had such a successful season, with the 22-year-old limited to mainly substitute appearances although he did score Mallorca's final goal on Monday.

Barcelona won 3-0 in Mallorca on the opening day of the season, but Mallorca's task was made virtually impossible after both Manu Morlanes and Vedat Muriqi were shown first half red cards.

Muriqi is vital for Mallorca with the big striker responsible for 15 of his side's 28 goals this campaign and Flick warned he was a "very dangerous player, we have to be careful with" due to his power in the air and ability to bring other players into the action also helps Virgili and Samu Costa and his threat could convince Flick to start with Ronald Araujo in his 11.

"He has a different physique than the rest of the players. He's one of the captains and leaders of the team," highlighted Flick. ■