Malaga Need Win to Boost Survival
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The final action of the weekend in La Liga sees Malaga welcome Real Betis to Estadio La Rosaleda. This match provides a great opportunity for Malaga to get a crucial win in their battle for survival at the bottom of the table.
Real Betis also need the points in their bid to move clear of the drop zone and close in on the group of teams above them in the top half of the table.
A win for Malaga in this match will not be enough to see them climb out of the relegation zone this weekend but with Deportivo La Coruna playing at Barcelona, they could close the gap to just one point.
Trends show both teams have been struggling defensively in La Liga this season and Malaga come in to this match having conceded 28 goals in their fifteen matches.
They have been conceding an average of 1.87 goals in their league games this season and 1.71 goals in their home La Liga matches.
However, they have started to turn things around recently in terms of results and Malaga have lost only one of their last five games in all competitions having endured a torrid run which saw them win just one in thirteen.
At home they are undefeated in their last four games in all competitions including wins over Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga.
Real Betis have also found defending to be problematic in La Liga this season and they have conceded one more goal than Malaga and more goals than any other team in the league.
Trends show Real Betis have conceded an average of 2.29 goals away from home in La Liga this season. That includes 5 goals at Eibar and 4 at Real Sociedad, although Real Betis did manage 4 goals themselves against the latter to claim a point.
However, Real Betis have been struggling away from home in recent games and they have lost each of the last three on the road in La Liga.
While they have tightened up defensively in two of the last three away league matches, conceding 1 goal at both Espanyol and Las Palmas, they have failed to find the back of the net themselves, which suggests Real Betis cannot find the right balance in away games.
Looking ahead to the team news and Malaga will be without the injured duo of Miguel Torres and Juan Carlos Perez. There are also doubts over Adrian Gonzalez, Recio, Diego Rolan and Federico Ricca.
Real Betis travel without Joel Campbell and Antonio Sanabria who are injured plus Andres Guardado who is suspended. Jordi Amat returns from suspension but Javi Garcia is rated as doubtful.
Both Malaga and Real Betis are finding it tough at the back this season and we could see a game which brings a lot of goals. Malaga will see this as the perfect opportunity to build on their recent good form and the home team could take maximum points with over 2.5 goals being scored.
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