Malaga vs. Barcelona: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview
Barcelona will try to continue their perfect start to the 2014-15 La Liga season when they travel to Malaga on Wednesday.
The hosts have collected just five points from their first four matches and won't be relishing a fixture against the Blaugrana, who have yet to concede a single goal in the 2014-15 season.
Minor injury concerns could slow their march, however, and Wednesday's match won't come as easy as the Catalans' 5-0 win over Levante.
Date: Wednesday, September 24
Time: 9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET
Venue: Estadio La Rosaleda, Malaga
TV info and live stream: The match will be broadcast on Sky Sports 5 (for UK viewers) and BeIN Sports (for US viewers), with mobile coverage available via the Sky Go app and BeIN Sports Connected.
Preview
Barcelona couldn't have asked for a better start to the new campaign. Four wins in four matches have the Blaugrana sitting at the top of the La Liga standings, and with 11 goals scored and none conceded, Luis Enrique's tenure as manager has so far been smooth sailing.
Ivan Rakitic is quickly proving to be one of the steals of the summer, slotting into Barcelona's midfield without a hitch. According to Sport, he could miss the match in Malaga because of an injury, however:
The loss of Neymar would sting, but only a little. Munir El Haddadi has proven himself a worthy replacement, and in Pedro, the Blaugrana have another experienced option to fill in out wide.
The situation in the centre of the pitch is a little different. Andres Iniesta and Xavi are as experienced as they come, and the latter is Rakitic's likely replacement.
The 34-year-old hasn't played a lot of minutes so far this season, and a solid performance against Malaga could help convince Enrique the longtime starter should have a bigger involvement.
Malaga started the season with a bang by recording an impressive 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao, but they've yet to win a single fixture since. Javi Gracia told the club's website Barcelona doesn't worry him, however, saying: “We’re prepared to compete in any game, which we’ve shown.”
Guillermo Ochoa is expected to make his debut for Malaga on Wednesday, and the Mexican World Cup hero will be keen to start his La Liga Career with a solid outing. He showed for El Tri he's more than comfortable playing in front of an overmatched defence, so the Blaugrana will be warned.
The Catalans will still be strong favourites, though, and should have little difficulty dispatching of the hosts on Wednesday.
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