Previews
SÁB 10.01.2015
The Rosaleda will witness a high-class clash between two teams who have had an outstanding start to the Liga BBVA. Málaga CF and Villarreal CF are separated by just one point, the side from Castile with 31 and the Andalusians snapping at their heels with 30.
Team news
The most significant change for Javi Gracia, Málaga's manager, is new arrival Egor Filipenko, a Belarusian centre-back who signed in the winter transfer window. Musacchio, Jokić and Hernán Pérez will be missing for Villarreal in a match that Jaume Costa will play no part in due to suspension.
Views from the dugout
"We're coming off the back of a league defeat and the team needs a victory to get through the 30-point barrier and try to achieve our main target as soon as possible", said an ambitious Javi Gracia in a press conference.
His counterpart in the visitors' dugout, Marcelino García Toral, is in no doubt about Málaga's greatest strengths: "We're facing an extremely difficult opponent who will demand a lot from us. We are one point behind the in the table and they have had an extraordinary first half of the season. We know it is a good team that is well organised, dynamic, pacey and has a quick transition between defence and attack that will force us to do a lot of things well".
© LALIGA - 2015