Barcelona has essentially sealed the Spanish league title, but they have a prime opportunity to create more distance with their greatest rival Real Madrid when they take on Malaga on Sunday.
After Madrid's embarrassing 0-0 draw against Osasuna, Barcelona can now put as much as 18 points between the two sides. The Catalan squad has yet to lose in the 2012-13 season and is coming off a pair of resounding victories. Last weekend, the team blitzed Espanyol 4-0 in a game that featured all the goals in the first half hour of the game. On Thursday, the team destroyed Cordoba 5-0 and got two braces from David Villa and Alexis Sanchez. Both players had been struggling this season and the goals reasserted their positions on the squad.
Assistant manager Jordi Roura noted that Villa "can score a lot of goals, that is his strength and he put in an exceptional game... Bit by bit he is getting back to his best. There is no doubt he will be a very important player for us this season."
Regarding Sanchez, Roura added, "We are very pleased with his work. It was getting hard for him and hopefully this will help him."
Star player and Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi did not get a chance to start in the last match but he will certainly suit up when Barça takes on fourth place Malaga. The team is coming off a 4-1 Copa del Rey win, but lost their last Spanish league match 1-0 to Deportivo La Coruña. A win in this one could put them just three points behind Real Madrid, a side they defeated a few weeks back.
Prediction: Malaga is home and at some point, Barcelona will lose. Malaga will end their undefeated streak with a 2-1 win. Malaga has enough talent, especially Isco, to put an end to Barcelona's run of 18 undefeated games. They took down a poor Madrid team and have enough confidence to play big against Barcelona.
Start Time: 3 PM EST
TV Info: beIN Sports
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