Malaga were tremendous in the Champions League group stage, topping a group that included AC Milan and Zenit St. Petersburg. Quickly, they became a real threat to make a run in the knockout stages, but their financial problems caught up to them and Nacho Monreal was sold in January leaving the team with a gaping hole at left back.
FC Porto vs. Malaga, 2013 UEFA Champions League: Time and TV schedule
If Malaga can make do at left back then they may have a Champions League run in them, a run Porto will be trying to cut short.
Uh oh.
Only Malaga haven't suffered at all in Monreal's absence. They have taken full points since Vitorino Antunes stepped in at left back, but they will have new questions to answer and a new test before them in their Monreal-less world on Tuesday.
Porto and a packed Estadio de Dragao awaits them in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie, where Antunes will face some combination of Silvestre Varela, Marat Izmaylov, Christian Atsu and Danilo. That’s not enviable for anyone, let alone someone like like Antunes.
But while Malaga may have questions about Antunes, they don’t about their fitness. Eliseu will miss the match after suffering a knee injury, but he is the only injury of note for the visitors, while Porto is similarly fit with just Steven Defour set to miss out after Varela returned from a muscle injury.
Malaga might still be able to make a run. After all they have plenty of quality elsewhere, but there will be skepticism until Antunes is tested this week against a Porto team that has gone more than a year without a loss in the league.
Match date/time: Tuesday, February 19; 2:45 p.m. ET
Venue: Estadio de Dragao, Porto, Portugal
TV: Fox Sports Net/Fox Soccer Plus (USA English), Sky Sports 2 (UK), Sportsnet World (Canada), TVE La Primera (Spain), TVI (Portugal)
Streaming: Fox Soccer 2 Go
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