Soccer: Barcelona looks to regain form against Mallorca

MADRID — Barcelona will be hoping to overcome its recent dip in form at Mallorca on Saturday to protect its five-point lead over Real Madrid in the Spanish league.

Barcelona, the two-time defending champions, began the month by setting a league record of 16 straight wins but have since stumbled in a 2-1 Champions League loss at Arsenal and were unconvincing in a 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao last weekend.

Barcelona will be without midfielder Xavi Hernandez, defenders Carles Puyol and Daniel Alves and goalkeeper Victor Valdes for the match at Iberostar Stadium.

But Lionel Messi, the FIFA World Player of the Year who leads the league with 25 goals, returned to training Thursday after a few days working alone in the gym. Jefferon Suarez also trained with the squad more than a month after being sidelined by a leg injury.

"Some key players are missing on the Barcelona squad, and those players can obviously make a difference. We see a chance to get a good result," Mallorca midfielder Jonathan de Guzman told The Associated Press on Thursday. "We're preparing for this like every other game. But we've had good results in the past against these top teams, so we go into the game with a lot of confidence."

Arsenal and Bilbao both played better after going down 1-0 in matches Barcelona largely controlled. Since coach Pep Guardiola took over in 2008, Barcelona has always struggled in February, having never won a Champions League game in that month and regularly dropping points in the league.

De Guzman said Mallorca's chase for a Europa League spot could be affected by dropping any points. But the Canadian-born Dutch player also doesn't believe Barcelona will be dwelling on losing at Arsenal.

"I don't think they'll take that along with them but it was a hard loss for them, for sure," De Guzman said. "Barcelona is Barcelona, there not the Champions League winners and don't have World Cup champions for nothing. Right now they're not in their best form and hopefully we can take advantage of that."

Mallorca, 11th in the standings, has a single victory in its past six games. The team has won seven of 12 home games with two draws, including against Madrid.

Madrid plays at Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday having won three straight league matches. The team also drew 1-1 at Lyon in the Champions League on Tuesday. Karim Benzema scored and showed improved form that could lead to coach Jose Mourinho counting on him down the final stretch of the season.

"He's back," Zinedine Zidane said of Benzema. "He's in good form."