Barcelona haven’t exactly had the most confident or inspiring start to their season, but despite that, they find themselves in second place in La Liga and just two points behind Real Madrid. On Saturday, with Real in a tight rivalry clash against Atlético Madrid, and with Málaga coming to the Camp Nou, there’s a very real chance that Barcelona can re-take first place. First and foremost, they need to focus on winning.
Barcelona vs. Málaga 2016: Start time, live stream, TV schedule, and 3 things to know
Barcelona have a chance to go to the top of La Liga if they beat Málaga.
Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images
Málaga aren’t exactly a pushover and have been in fairly decent form of late. They have yet to win on the road, however, and have only earned two points playing away from home all season. That’s not to say they’re incapable of putting on a performance that can silence the Camp Nou and take a point off their opponents, but it will take a much better performance than we’ve typically seen from them on the road this year. If they do pull off the upset, that could give Málaga the kind of momentum and energy they need to start pushing their way up the table.
TV: beIN Sports (U.S. - English), beIN Sports en Español (U.S. - Spanish), beIN LaLiga, Movistar+ (Spain)
Online: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.), beIN Sports España (Spain)
Match Date/Time: Saturday, 10:15 a.m. ET, 4:14 p.m. local
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
Three big things to know
- Lionel Messi is in fantastic form, and not just because he just single-handedly won a match for Argentina a few days ago. He’s either scored or been immensely influential in all of Barcelona’s recent wins since his post-injury return to form, and given the defenders and midfielders he’ll be facing off against, there’s little reason to expect any different this time around.
- As Messi’s form has improved, however, Neymar’s has fallen off, something also apparent during the recent international break. He hasn’t scored for Barcelona in a month, and with leading scorer Luis Suárez suspended for this match, the Catalans need Neymar to step up. Otherwise, Málaga will be able to key on Messi and potentially keep Barcelona in check through sheer weight of defensive numbers and focus.
- Málaga, meanwhile, need to find some way to be more productive in the final third. They have one player, ex-Barcelona forward Sandro Ramirez, who has scored more than two goals, and he’s scored five. Even that two-goal mark has only one player who has met it this season, with a handful of others having scored one apiece. Málaga’s defensive record is decent, but unless they figure out how to score more goals, that’s not going to matter.
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