On Sunday, February 21, Malaga Club de Futbol hosts Real Madrid Club de Futbol in week 25 of the Spanish Primera Division. The game will be played at the Estadio de Rosadela in the city of Malaga and will kick off at 15:00 BST.
The home side is currently 11th on the league table with 30 points from 24 games, while the visitors are 3rd on the league table, with 53 points from 24 games.
A win for the mid table team can see them rise to 9th position on the table, while a defeat can see them drop to 12th place. Real Madrid can move to 2nd place with a win in this game, while a defeat will see them retain their current position on the table.
Malaga comfortably mid tableMalaga has next to nothing to play for this season; they are not likely to challenge for the European places, neither are they going to get dragged into a relegation battle. Their manager will have to concentrate on keeping his team focused and motivated for the remaining 14 games of the league season.
The Whites and Sky Blues, managed by Javi Garcia are in good form, with three wins and two defeats in their last five games in all competitions. These wins were consecutive league games against Eibar (1-2 on January 30), and Getafe (3-0 on February 5). They also won a recent friendly game against Dynamo Kyiv (0-2 on February 10).
The Malaga based club have lost recent games against Barcelona (1-2 on January 23), and Villarreal (1-0 on February 13).
Real Madrid playing catch upThe title challengers will know that if they are to win this title, there is a very little margin for error, as league leaders Barcelona already have a 7 point gap on them. Their elimination from the Spanish Cup means that the league is their only chance of domestic silverware this season.
Los Blancos, managed by Zinedane Zidane are in excellent form, with four wins and one draw in their last five games in all competitions. These wins include league victories against Espanyol (6-0 on January 31), Granada (1-2 on February 7), and Athletic Bilbao (4-2 on February 13). They also defeated Roma in the first leg of their Champions League tie (0-2 on February 17).
The 2014 Champions League winners could only manage a draw against Real Betis in their recent league game (1-1 on January 24).
The man in charge of guarding the Malaga goal will be Carlos Kameni, and his manger will be hoping for a stellar performance from the Cameroonian if his team is to secure a famous victory against the Spanish giants. Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to win the Spanish golden boot again, and will be hoping for a couple of goals in this game to further his cause.
Malaga was impressive in the first leg of this league fixture, holding their illustrious opponents to a goalless draw. For Real Madrid, this is a must win game, while Malaga have nothing to play for, so I see Los Blancos getting all three points from this encounter.