Barcelona travel to Andalusia for their third game in under a week after their fierce rivals drew 1-1 in a potentially pivotal Madrid derby.
Form
The Blaugrana are in great form going in to this match. Beating Sevilla means they have now won three consecutive games in the league. In fact, the loss against Deportivo is the only time they haven’t won in their last nine games in all competitions. This run includes key wins against PSG and Atlético Madrid. In contrast to this, Málaga have been struggling with only two wins in their last ten games. However, they did win their last league game, which was away against Sporting Gijón.
Squads
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Luis Enrique has some big decisions to make due to a few players being unavailable. There is also the hectic upcoming schedule to consider because players need to be rested in order to avoid fatigue. Ivan Rakitić and Gerard Piqué are both suspended due to accumulating five yellow cards each. This is a blessing in disguise, though, because it means they won’t miss El Clásico, and they will be rested for the Champions League first leg against Juventus. Arda Turan is out due to an injury he picked up in the international break. Rafinha joins Aleix Vidal on the long-term injury list due to a meniscus injury which required surgery, so he is out for four months.
Málaga are also without a few key players. Bakary Koné, Aaron Escandell, Zdravko Kuzmanović, Luis Muñoz and Miguel Torres are all unavailable due to injury. They are also missing Keko due to suspension.
Next: 3 Things We Learned: Barcelona vs Sevilla
History
This fixture has proved to be a tough one for the Catalans in recent years. In the last five matches, they have only won twice with their only loss in them games being at Camp Nou. They drew the reverse fixture 0-0 earlier in the season, but Lionel Messi was out injured for that match. The last time they actually beat these opponents by more than one goal was all the way back in the beginning of 2014. Therefore, it is likely to be a tough game. However, Málaga haven’t been playing well recently, so they should be low on confidence which will benefit Barça.
Playing Style
Málaga are likely to sit deep, and rely on the counter-attack rather than coming out to attack the Catalans deep up the pitch. They usually like to have control over possession to some extent. Over half of their goals have come from open play, so they are comfortable with the ball, and can be patient with it. They are also a danger from set-pieces with twelve goals, so the Catalans will have to be wary due to their weaknesses in this area.
The main danger man for Los Boquerones is ex-Barcelona player Sandro Ramirez with eight goals this season. Javier Mascherano and co. should be familiar with him, though, after his time in the first team.
It is likely to be a tough game for the Catalans, but Málaga’s poor form and Barcelona’s attacking quality should be enough to see them through. The amount of rotation that Luis Enrique decides to do is key because they have four games in the two weeks after this match. It would make sense for him to play a strong team in order to capitalise on Real drawing 1-1 in the Madrid derby. Reducing the gap between the two teams will benefit Barcelona psychologically going in to El Clásico, so it is vital that they take this game seriously. However, this may come at the expense of a good result against Juventus in midweek. It is worth the risk, though.
Keeping the same players together also increases the effectiveness of the formation. This will increase the chemistry between them, and make them an even more formidable proposition for the final run in. Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez have been deadly in the last few matches, so expect more of the same in this match.
Prediction: Málaga CF 1-3 FC Barcelona
Predicted Lineup
Andrés Iniesta instead of Denis Suárez is a possibility.