Barcelona will be have a pretty good chance of knocking Real Madrid off the top of the La Liga table this week as they host 10th placed Malaga at Nou Camp. They know quite well Real Madrid have every chance to drop points in the Madrid derby and they would be more than happy to capitalise on that.
The Catalans are just two points below league leaders, Real Madrid and the fact that Malaga have not won in their last eight away games makes it hard to believe that there will be an upset. But Malaga are one of the five sides to have won at Camp Nou while Luis Enrique has been the manager of the Blaugrana, so you can’t rule out anything. They last defeated Barcelona at Nou Camp in 2015.
This looks like an easy win for Barcelona who will be waiting with a heavy breath for Real to drop points in the Madrid derby. The Blaugrana have already dropped 8 points in 7 matches played thus far and they are yet to play Real Madrid. And with many star players missing, Barca will try to regain their composure and form before the El Clasico.
Defence
With Gerard Pique and Jeremy Mathieu returning to training, Barcelona will leave behind the horrendous time they had defending, which was seen against Sevilla. While Luis Enrique had to use a makeshift defence in their win over Sevilla, which had Sergi Roberto occupying the right-back slot with Lucas Digne coming back in on the left and Javier Mascherano partnering with Samuel Umtiti in the middle, it didn’t look to be a composed back line that has made many mistakes in the process. Now with Umtiti also injured, Enrique is expected to start with Pique in the middle and Jordi Alba in the right back position.
Midfield
The Blaugrana midfield is no better as they are without Andres Iniesta, who is out for long after suffering an injury against Valencia. With Mascherano forced to play at the back, Barcelona did not really have a backup for the central defensive duo. Barcelona have central midfield options in Andre Gomez and Denis Suarez, who played against Sevilla but it lacks the edge. We expect Enrique to start with Busquets in the holding midfield position and Rafinha to pair with Rakitic behind the forwards.
Attack
With Luis Suarez suspended after seeing the 5th yellow card, Enrique is expected to start with Paco Alcacer in the centre-forward role with Messi and Neymar on the flanks. Enrique will hope they do the job just fine even without the Uruguayan.
