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Kick off: Saturday, 24.10.2015. @22:05
Venue: La Rosaleda
Head to head record
Malaga vs Deportivo La Coruna 1-1 (La Liga)
Malaga vs Deportivo La Coruna 4-1 (Copa del Rey)
Deportivo La Coruna vs Malaga 0-1 (La Liga)
Deportivo La Coruna vs Malaga 1-1 (Copa del Rey)
Malaga vs Deportivo La Coruna 3-1 (La Liga)
Malaga vs Deportivo La Coruna prediction
Malaga find themselves on the brink of the relegation zone following the heavy loss at Mestalla, and they have no choice but to attack high-flying Deportivo from the off. The Galician side head into the clash in excellent spirits having enjoyed one of the best starts to a league campaign in recent history.
Can they turn it around?
After the wealthy owners left the club, Malaga sporting department had to battle financial uncertainty and make sure to keep the results respectable, and they did even better than expected, finishing the previous two campaigns safely tucked away in the middle of the standings. But, having seen quite a few important players leave this summer while failing to sign proper replacements, their early season struggles are hardly a surprise. The team still have too much quality to go down and should be able to start climbing the league standings soon, with goalless draw at Santiago Bernabeu and 3-1 home win over Real Sociedad definitely steps in the right direction. It won’t be easy for los Boquerones to defeat one of league’s in-form sides, but having slipped to 17th in the standings, the hosts will be forced to attack in search of a morale-boosting win. With star striker Charles scoring a hat-trick against La Real to prove he is back amongst the goals, Malaga can be trusted to score in sixth successive meeting with Deportivo, but keeping a rare clean sheet could be a more difficult task.
Summer recruit Hachim Mastour remains unavailable for selection as his case should be resolved in the coming days, whereas the likes of Ignacio Camacho, Nordin Amrabat, Roque Santa Cruz, Flavio and Marcos Angeleri are out injured.
Deportivo showing serious improvement
Deportivo La Coruna pulled off a great escape last season as they came from two goals behind at Camo Nou to earn a draw that saw them narrowly avoid the drop, but things are looking up this term. Despite operating on a tight budget, the club management did well to recruit quite a few quality footballer during close season, with the likes of Fede Cartabia, Cani, Navarro, Mosquera, Fajr and Alberto seriously improving the quality of the squad. And with new signings quickly adapting to life at Riazor, Deportivo started the new campaign in great manner, taking13 points from 8 games to climb to sixth in the La Liga standings. La Coruna’s games this season have been quite entertaining, with both teams scoring in six of last seven, and following scoring draws with Granada and Athletic Bilbao, there is every chance that the trend will continue at La Rosaleda. Having done much better than expected so far, the visitors have no reason to discard their positive approach and they will attempt to extend the impressive scoring run that saw them bag 7 goals in 4 away fixtures.
Oriol Riera is doubtful with an iliac crest bruise, but Jonathan Rodriguez should be back in contention after missing the Athletic game.
Malaga vs Deportivo La Coruna betting tip
With Deportivo in excellent form and Malaga desperate for a win, chances are we will see an open affair with plenty of chances at both ends. And seeing that both teams scored in four of their last five meetings, backing the two sides to register at least a goal each looks the right thing to do.
Tip: Both teams to score
Odds: 2.05 (21/20) @888sport
