Malaga vs Real Madrid Match Preview – Spanish Primera Liga

Real Madrid travel to the Estadio La Rosaleda to face Malaga on Saturday at 19:00 GMT+0 (20:00 local time) in an enticing fixture that has the potential to be a 4:3 thriller or a boring old 0:0.  Real Madrids title hopes are all but gone barring a collapse from Barcelona or rivals Athletico Madrid however they still have plenty to play for in the Spanish Primera.  Real Madrid currently sit 3rd in the league, just 7 points behind Athletico Madrid with a game in hand and 5 points clear of Malaga who sit in 4th and currently hold the Champions League Qualification spot.

Jose Mourinho’s men have had a mixed December so far; they defeated arch rivals Athletico 2-0 at the Bernabeu earlier this month.  They then lost to Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey and were unable to defeat Espanyol last time out drawing 2:2.  This is an intriguing game because if Real Madrid can win, they will move within 4 points of Athletico however if they lose Malaga will close the gap to just 2 points and a season in recent years were Real Madrid could potentially finish fourth would be catastrophic.

This match also features the two best defensive teams in the Spanish Primera; Malaga have conceded 10 goals in 16 games and Real Madrid have conceded 14 in 16 making this a potential stalemate for viewers.  Real Madrid coincidentally are the second highest scoring team in La Liga boasting 39 goals in 16 matches compared with Malaga’s 25 in 16.  The real question that makes this match interesting is: Can Real Madrid break down Malaga’s defense?  Can Malaga snatch the first goal and defend a lead against such an attacking side?

Below is the current Spanish Primera form table (last 7 matches):

History strongly favours Real Madrid; Madrid have won 18/24 against Malaga in recent years and the other 6 matches have been draws – not a very good statistic for those people who are taking 4/1 odds on Malaga.

Current betting odds – Malaga (4/1) Draw (31/10) Real Madrid (8/13)

Gamingtips Prediction Malaga 1:2 Real Madrid

This match could very well be a 0:0 however Real Madrid have too much quality and odds of (8/13) with  seem very generous.  Let’s hope that their final match in 2012 doesn’t end in a 0:0 draw as often happens with much anticipated games such as this one.

For UK viewers  this match will be Live on Sky Sports 4 HD