La Liga 2011-12: Malaga Vs Real Madrid Preview
Malaga are set to host Real Madrid at the Rosalida in the La Liga on Saturday, October 22, 2011, in a game that the hosts will see as an opportunity to avenge the 7-0 thrashing they received at the hands of the Santiago Bernabeu outfit in March.
Málaga are coming off a 3-0 loss away at Levante; however, apart from that loss, the hosts have had three wins and a draw in their last five games, the wins coming against Getafe, Athletic de Bilbao and Mallorca, while the draw transpired against Zaragoza.
Real Madrid have been in outstanding form having won all of their last five games, against Olympique Lyonnais, Betis, Espanyol, Ajax and Rayo Vallecano. Head to head, Real Madrid have won four of their last five La Liga encounters with Malaga, with a draw in May 2010 completing the tally.
Malaga don’t have any major injury worries apart from Julio Baptista, who is nursing a foot injury. The Brazilian could undergo a late test ahead of the game on Saturday. Manuel Pellegrini will also not have the services of goalkeeper Willy Caballero, who is serving a red card suspension, after being sent off during Malaga’s 3-0 defeat to Levante, last week.
For Madrid, Raul Albiol is yet to recover from a fractured cheekbone sustained in the Euro 2012 campaign, while playing for Spain. Ricardo Carvalho and Nuri Sahin are also unlikely to play against Malaga, owing to injury concerns. Kaka who scored against Betis could replace off-colour Angel di Maria.
Jose Mourinho has an embarrassment of choices in two in-form strikers, Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain, with the latter likely to be preferred after a brilliant hat-trick in his last game.
Malaga’s probable eleven: Ruben, Gamez, Demichelis, Mathijsen, Monreal, Cazorla, Toulalan, Maresca, Joaquin, Van Nistelrooy, Isco
Real Madrid’s probable eleven: Casillas, Arbeloa, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo, Alonso, Khedira, Kaka, Ozil, Ronaldo, Higuain
About the Author (Author Profile)
Jinxatious is the Chief Editor of SportingAttitude.com
An avid writer, on an eclectic range of subjects, he brings to bear editorial experience garnered with a national newspaper in South-East Asia. He also has sportscasting experience, as a cricket commentator, and his passion for sport extends beyond Cricket, to Football, Tennis, and Olympic Sports.
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