Kick Off: 1945, 08/04/2017
Stadium: La Rosaleda
TV: Sky Sports 5
Barcelona could find themselves five points behind Real Madrid when this game kicks off, but will go top of the table should they win at La Rosadela and their arch rivals fail to win the derby which takes places a few hours earlier.
The Andalucians ended a six-match winless run on Wednesday with a 1-0 victory at Gijon, but their recent home record is poor, losing three on the bounce and five from the last six.
Although Malaga drew with Barca earlier in the season, the first of our Malaga vs Barcelona betting tips is for the defending champions to win to nil at 13/10.
A Look At Malaga’s Betting Odds
Only Osasuna and Las Palmas have worse form than Malaga over the last 10 games, so the omens do not look good for a repeat of their shock win at Camp Nou two years ago.
Michel’s men did manage a goalless draw at Barca earlier in the season, but the wheels have come off since then.
Their last six matches have produced less than four goals overall and that’s how it has finished in the last seven meetings between the sides. The next of our Malaga vs Barcelona betting tips is for Barcelona to win and under 3.5 goals at 13/10.
A Look At Barcelona’s Betting Odds
Luis Suarez has been rattling them in at a right old rate for Barca and we think he is great value at 9/4 to open the scoring.
The former Liverpool striker has struck in his last five matches, but significantly he has opened the scoring three times and has been Barca’s first goalscorer on every occasion.
Our final Malaga vs Barcelona prediction is for Barca to score exactly two goals at 13/5. Malaga’s opponents at La Rosadela have scored two goals in each of their last three matches and with a bit of luck the Anchovies can restrict Messi and co to just a couple.
Additional stats
Last result:
Sporting Gijon 0-1 MALAGA – Sandro Ramirez
BARCELONA 3-0 Sevilla – Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi (2)
Head-to-head: Barcelona 0-0 Malaga, Malaga 1-2 Barcelona, Barcelona 1-0 Malaga, Barcelona 0-1 Malaga, Malaga 0-0 Barcelona