The final fixture of the opening weekend of La Liga in 2018 sees Malaga welcome Espanyol to Estadio La Rosaleda on Monday night. This is a crucial fixture for both teams, who will be seeing this game as a great opportunity to pick up some much-needed points. Malaga find themselves deep in trouble and sit 19th in La Liga with 11 points to their name. They are currently 4 points adrift of safety and while a win would not see them escape the relegation zone, it would give them renewed hope. Espanyol are 15th in the table and start this match 9 points clear of Malaga but only 5 points away from the final relegation place.
Spanish La Liga – Malaga v Espanyol Barcelona – La Rosaleda Stadium, Malaga – Monday 8th January 2018 – 20:00 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 2 at Coral |
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Málaga CF
Espanyol BarcelonaMalaga Form
Malaga come into this match having won 1 of their last 5 league games and the victory came away from home at Real Sociedad, which was a good win. However, this was only their third win of the season and they have won only 3 of their last 20 La Liga games, showing how their poor form has transferred from the end of last season to the current campaign. At home, Malaga are undefeated in 3 of their last 4 games, winning against Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruna and drawing with Levante. Scoring goals has been the main issue for Malaga this season and 12 times in their last 18 La Liga games they have failed score a single goal.
Espanyol Form
Espanyol make the trip to the Costa del Sol having won 1 of their last 5 matches. The victory was an excellent 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at home but this was followed in the week by a home defeat at the hands of Levante in the cup. While Espanyol have registered some good wins at home this season, the have struggled on the road and have yet to win a single league game away from home in the current campaign. In fact, they have won only 1 of their last 10 away games in all competitions and that victory came at the end of last season. Espanyol have been decent at the back this season but only Malaga, Leganes and Deportivo La Coruna have scored fewer goals in La Liga.
Team News
Juan Carlos Perez will miss this game for Malaga due to injury and the hosts will also be without Adrian Gonzalez who is suspended. However, Roberto Rosales is available again following suspension and should start the match at right-back but Diego Rolan remains a doubt. Oscar Duarte is back in contention for Espanyol and should start the match in central defence, with Victor Sanchez possibly coming in at right-back having returned from suspension.
Malaga v Espanyol Barcelona – Betting Odds and Predictions
The draw is on offer at 2/1 with William Hill. Both teams have been struggling to score goals and this match could see few good goal scoring opportunities. With that in mind, the draw and under 2.5 goals at 12/5 with Ladbrokes looks a good bet. The 1-1 correct score is 11/2 with William Hill.
Top Betting Tip Malaga v Espanyol Barcelona
Neither team have been in good form leading up to this match and while Espanyol will consider themselves the better team, their away results have been poor this season. Although they have been suffering in-front of goal this season, Espanyol have scored in the 3 of their last 4 away games. If they managed to find the back of the net in this one, Malaga will also need a goal if they are to pick up a point.