Two inform sides in La Liga will clash on Saturday night when Malaga will host Real Sociedad in a battle of seventh versus ninth in the table.
Malaga have had a great season so far and currently sit comfortably in seventh in the La Liga table just five points behind fellow high-flyers Villarreal. Their recent form has also been good with three wins in the last five including a victory at the Nou Camp, however they did lose their last game before the international break with a 1-0 defeat away to Rayo Vallecano.
David Moyes’ Real Sociedad have been on the up since the arrival of the Scotsman, their recent form has seen them turn a corner with just one defeat in the last seven matches aswell as winning four of the last five including a 3-1 win over Cordoba the last time out. This good form has seen them climb to ninth of the table three points behind Athletic Club and just eight points behind their opponents. It was the hosts who had the upper hand in the reverse fixture back in November with Malaga winning 1-0 at the Anoeta Stadium.
Ignacio Camacho is side-lined again for Malaga through injury with Recio likely to replace him in the midfield and Marcos Angeleri is also absent through suspension. Juanmi is expected to feature after he impressed in his first international start for Spain against the Netherlands.
Real Sociedad’s top scorer Carlos Vela is a doubt for this game despite recovering from his knee injury before the international break.
Moyes said: “He’s a doubt for the game,
“He trained very well on Monday but on Tuesday he felt a bit uncomfortable with his knee. He’s not trained since then but I am hoping he will train on Friday, so right now I would say that he is a doubt for the game."
Despite that major absence it is unlikely that Moyes will change his starting XI with Geronimo Rulli expected to keep his place between the sticks after his recent call up for the Argentina squad.