Football – Spain – La Liga
Saturday 14th February 2015 – Kickoff: 2100hrs
The late kick-off on Saturday night brings us an intriguing top half clash in La Liga between hosts Malaga and visitors Espanyol as Malaga look to build upon their recent win over Valencia.
Three away matches in their last five in the Spanish top flight haven’t done Malaga any favours as they lost at Sevilla and Levante along with a point at Athletic Bilbao, but on home turf they’ve lost just twice all season in an overall home record that stands at 6-3-2 14/7 which includes an understandable defeat to Real Madrid but a lesser one to Almeria.
However, last time out they beat Valencia 1-0 and they do possess a solid defensive unit as six clean sheets already this season testifies. Their form against top half opposition is also solid as they’ve lost just once in six encounters against such teams.
Visitors Espanyol have recently suffered back-to-back defeats in La Liga as they went down to Sevilla 3-2 away which was followed by last weekend’s 2-1 home loss to Valencia. They therefore have remained in a top half position of 9th place which is largely thanks to their home form where they’ve lost just on three occasions this season.
However, Espanyol’s away form in the top flight leaves a lot to be desired as their record shows a disappointing 1-2-7 10/23 with their one success coming at Rayo Vallecano in a 3-1 win just before Christmas.
It’s been pretty much one way traffic apart from that rare win, and with just one clean sheet to their name along with conceding 15 goals in their last five on the road, I reckon they could struggle at Malaga tonight.
Malaga have been pretty consistent at home this season, so I’ll back them to do the business against Espanyol’s fragile defensive unit. Could be a 2-1 win for the hosts.
Pick: Malaga straight win @ 2.10 Bet Victor
