Real Madrid travel to the Costa del Sol this evening to take on Malaga in a vitally important clash ahead of next week’s Clasico.
A win for Los Blancos would take them seven points clear of Barcelona and crank up the pressure on the Catalan side, who play tomorrow. But Carlo Ancelotti’s men are up against an unpredictable side on the south coast of Spain.
Malaga have just 29 points from their 27 games played and sit in 13th place in La Liga. Things are so tight in the bottom half of the table that defeat this evening could throw them right back in the relegation scrap. On the other hand, they went to Osasuna on Monday night and picked up a notable 2-0 win. Much more impressive when you consider the fact Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid failed to take full points from the Navarra side.
However, Madrid are on a 29-game unbeaten run, and have only conceded six goals in 17 games in 2014 so far. For that reason, they are considered the favourites by the bookies with odds of around 1/4 to come away victorious. The hosts, managed by former Madrid boss Bernd Schuster, are at 10/1, with a draw priced at 5/1.
