Real Madrid vs. Malaga: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info

Real Madrid will have redemption in sight when they play host to Malaga on Saturday, having suffered a 2-1 defeat in their trip to Sevilla on Sunday followed by Wednesday's 2-1 Copa del Rey loss at home to Celta Vigo.

Los Merengues remain one point clear at La Liga's summit with a game in hand heading into Week 19 of the 2016-17 campaign, and Malaga could be the perfect opposition against whom they can regain their confidence.

Manager Marcelo Romero's side are without a win in five and have lost their last three league games in succession, entering a glum patch of form just as it looked as though they were making strides up the standings.

We provide a match preview ahead of Saturday's top-flight fixture, complete with all the latest team news and a look at the essential viewing information you'll need to catch the game.

Date: Saturday, January 21

Time: 3:15 p.m. GMT/10:15 a.m. ET

Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.), fuboTV (U.S.)

TV Info: beIN Sports 3 (U.S.) Sky Sports 3 (UK delay, 5:30 p.m. GMT)

Real Madrid	Malaga
Real Madrid 1-2 Celta Vigo	Malaga 0-2 Real Sociedad
Sevilla 2-1 Real Madrid	Celta Vigo 3-1 Malaga
Sevilla 3-3 Real Madrid	Malaga 3-4 Cordoba
Real Madrid 5-0 Granada	Sevilla 4-1 Malaga
Real Madrid 3-0 Sevilla	Malaga 1-1 Granada

Team News

Real manager Zinedine Zidane has absences to consider in both attack and defence, with Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Isco likely to be missing at the Bernabeu on Saturday.

Kieran Canning of Agence France-Presse commented on that trio missing Wednesday's defeat at the hands of Celta Vigo, while Pepe and Dani Carvajal were the notable omissions in defence:

Of that group, only Carvajal featured in Sunday's defeat at Sevilla, meaning his injury is the only new one. That said, Yahoo's Andrew Gaffney isn't convinced by likely replacement Danilo:

Elsewhere, Malaga chief Romero has a list of long-term absentees from earlier in the campaign, and striker Sandro Ramirez has become the latest addition with a hamstring injury, per the club's official website.

Attacker Charles Dias and midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic haven't featured since October, while 37-year-old Weligton has been on the treatment table since September. Miguel Torres is also doubtful after limping out of the loss to Celta Vigo two weeks ago.

Left-back Federico Ricca is a newer absence after he came off at half-time in the 4-1 defeat to Sevilla on December 17, meaning Juan Carlos stands to continue serving as his replacement for the trip to Madrid.

Predicted Real Madrid XI (4-3-3): Keylor Navas; Danilo, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane; Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Casemiro; Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio

Predicted Malaga XI (4-2-3-1): Carlos Kameni; Roberto Rosales, Juan Carlos, Mikel Villanueva, Diego Llorente; Pablo Fornals, Ignacio Camacho; Duda, Gonzalo Castro, Michael Santos; Adalberto Penaranda

Preview

Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images

In some ways, Malaga are unfortunate to be facing Los Merengues just as they come off a damaging 2-1 defeat at Sevilla, where Stevan Jovetic's late winner edged past Real stopper Keylor Navas to seal three points.

That said, there is a glimmer of hope for the Anchovies after Spanish Football Pod pointed out Real's unenviable home record in defence, relying largely on their attacking might to see them through this season:

On the other hand, Gaffney provided evidence to suggest Romero's men could be in trouble unless they take the initiative and find the back of the net first in their trip to the nation's capital:

Malaga have never beaten Real at the Bernabeu in La Liga, and their most recent victory over Los Blancos was a 3-2 home victory in 2012 that now feels long ago as the Andalucians dwindle in 13th.

A loss in Madrid would mark a fourth consecutive defeat for Malaga, and while Real have their share of injury woes, it's difficult to see Zidane's team do anything other than make a statement against vulnerable opposition.