It’s Matchday 12 in La Liga and defending champions Barcelona play hosts to Malaga on Saturday, looking to move ahead of Real Madrid temporarily and create pressure on the league leaders ahead of the Madrid Derby.
Club action returns this weekend after a near-fortnight long international break, and Barcelona are looking to continue their recent winning run in La Liga. The defending champions are looking to make it five wins on the trot as Malaga come visiting to Camp Nou.
Both sides come into this match on the back of nervy wins. Barcelona came back from a goal down thanks to the superlative efforts of Lionel Messi to seal a late 2-1 win over Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, and keep pace with Los Blancos. Tenth-placed Malaga, meanwhile, did one better as they twice came from a goal down against Sporting Gijon to win 3-2 at Estadio La Rosaleda.
With leaders Real Madrid visiting city rivals Atletico Madrid later in the day, this match represents an opportunity for Barcelona to leapfrog their bitter rivals to the summit of Spanish league football. Malaga, though, can’t be taken lightly, with Juande Ramos’ men having lost just once in their last five games.
Probable Lineups and Tactics
Barcelona
It seems Luis Enrique’s treacherous luck with injuries is turning for the better. Spain international Gerard Pique started training individually earlier this week in his bid to make a timely return from the ankle injury he suffered three weeks ago, and is set to restored back into the starting lineup.
Defenders Jeremy Mathieu (calf) and Jordi Alba (hamstring) are back in the reckoning too, having recovered from their respective injuries. Meanwhile, club captain Andres Iniesta is also making promising progress in his recovery from the knee injury he suffered against Valencia three weeks ago. This game, though, comes too early for the midfielder as he has only just returned to light training.
However, it is not all good news for Enrique and Barcelona as Samuel Umtiti is out with a hamstring injury. The French centre-back suffered the injury while training with the national squad last week and is set to be out for couple of weeks.
In Umtiti’s absence, Javier Mascherano is expected to partner the returning Pique, and the central defensive pairing should be flanked by Sergi Roberto and Alba. In midfield, Denis Suarez is likely to fill in for Iniesta, alongside the usual suspects Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic.
Up top, star striker Luis Suarez is the biggest miss for the Blaugrana, after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Sevilla and is suspended. In his stead, Paco Alcacer is likely to take up the centre forward role, with Lionel Messi and Neymar flanking the Spaniard on either side.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Rakitic; Busquets, Suarez; Messi, Paco Alcacer, Neymar
Malaga
Juande Ramos has injury and suspension concerns of his own. First choice centre back Diego Llorente is facing a spell on the sidelines after suffering a foot injury, and will miss the match against Barcelona. Fellow central defender Welington has been missing since September with a meniscus irritation and remains out for Saturday’s meeting against the reigning champions.
Star man Ignacio Camacho will miss the trip to Camp Nou after receiving a fifth yellow card in the win over Gijon on Matchday 11. Midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic has failed to recover from an achilles injury and is ruled out from the match on Saturday. Central midfielder Recio also misses the game due to an injury to the abductor muscle.
Meanwhile, winger Keko (calf) and Charles (knee) are out with their respective problems, leaving a severely depleted side for Ramos in what was already touted to be a tough outing for the Boquerones. In the absence of the key figures in defence and midfield, the onus will be on the likes of Juanpi, Chory Castro and Sandro Ramirez to create problems for a rocky Barca defence in order to go back home with any points.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kameni; Rosales, Kone, Villanueva, Ricca; Juan Carlos, Fornals; Jony, Juanpi, Castro; Sandro Ramirez
Key Stats
- Barcelona have scored at home at least once in each of their last 31 league games. This is their best run under one manager since 2007 under Frank Rijkaard, when they scored in 51 consecutive league matches at Camp Nou.
- Malaga have failed to notch a single win in their last eight away games in La Liga, drawing three and losing five times. Moreover, they have failed to score in five of these games.
- Malaga have conceded the first goal of a match more times than any other La Liga side this season (9).
- Lionel Messi has managed to score just once in his last five league meetings with Malaga.
Prediction
Barcelona 2-0 Malaga
Barcelona come into this match on the back of a four match winning streak in La Liga, and they will be looking to make it five in a row when they host Malaga on Saturday afternoon. This match represents the best chance for the Blaugrana to seal top spot in the league table, with the Madrid Derby pitting their two rivals against each other later in the day.
Malaga have been poor on the road, with no wins in eight. With a truckload of injury absentees affecting Juande Ramos’ squad the tough times away from home are expected to continue at Camp Nou. With Barcelona visibly the stronger of the two sides, anything other than a routine win for the defending La Liga champions will come a shock, despite the absence of the talismanic Luis Suarez.
