Sevilla host Malaga at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán late on Sunday evening with Unai Emery's side looking to extend their unbeaten run of form. The hosts are unbeaten in nine games and cruised to the 4-0 win against Granada in their last outing, with French striker Kevin Gameiro netting a brace as well as goals from Iago Aspas and Denis Suarez. Meanwhile, Malaga lost their last game 3-2 to Levante, crashing out of the Copa Del Rey. The visitors will be looking for his team to bounce back and return to winning ways as they chase the final European spot.
Even after losing several key players in the summer, Los Rojiblancos find themselves in fourth place and a mere six points behind league leaders Real Madrid. They currently occupy the final Champions League place, which may come as a surprise to some people given the departures of club captain Ivan Rakitic to Barcelona, Alberto Moreno to Liverpool and Frederico Fazio to Tottenham Hotspur.
Malaga are also enjoying a successful season. The club are currently sitting comfortably in seventh place, one point behind Villarreal, who hold the last Europa League position. Despite this, they've had a slightly mediocre start to the second half of the season as they suffered a morale-damaging 2-1 defeat to relegation battlers Almeria, coupled with a fiercely contested 1-1 draw with European rivals Villarreal.
Sevilla's form in front of their own fans has been key to their success this season. The club are still yet to lose a game on home turf and it looks likely that they will have too much for Malaga to be able to handle. Javi Gracia's side have started 2015 looking tepid and sluggish and that looks set to continue as they will once again fail to register a win.