A desperate Malaga will be hoping for a repeat performance against Leganes in Sunday’s early La Liga kick-off.
Four straight defeats have plunged Malaga into relegation trouble, leaving new Coach Michel Gonzalez to admit the Andalusians’ objective “had changed” for the remainder of the season, although their last meeting with Leganes ended in a 4-0 victory.
“We have to play the match with responsibility, authority and respect for our rivals,” the former Getafe and Sevilla boss said at a Press conference.
“The next few weeks are going to be very important, our objective has changed. Maybe our expectations were a little crazy at first.”
Leganes, however, have hit form at the right moment and enjoy a six-point cushion to the bottom three, with belief growing that the minnows can survive their first-ever campaign in the top flight.
“We’re playing for our lives, we can’t relax against Malaga,” trainer Asier Garitano told reporters.
“We worked well in the week, thinking about Malaga. They’re under more pressure. They didn’t think they’d be fighting for survival.
“Malaga are a good team and they don’t want to get in trouble, but we want to put them in it. It’ll be a very complicated match.”
Leganes: Herrerin; Tito, Mantovani, Siovas, Bustinza; Ruben, Moran; El Zhar, Szymanowski, Diego Rico; Guerrero
Injuries/suspensions: Serantes (I), Robert (I)
Malaga (probable): Kameni; Rosales, Llorente, Luis Hernandez, Juan Carlos; Fornals, Camacho, Jose Rodriguez, Chory; Sandro; Charles
Injuries/suspensions: Kone (I), Kuzmanovic (I), Recio (I)
Referee: Mateu Lahoz
Form guide: Leganes (D W L W L) Malaga (L L L L W)
Previous meeting: Malaga 4-0 Leganes
Kick-off time: 11:00 GMT/12:00 CET