Real Madrid make the trip to Malaga on Sunday knowing that they are just one point away from securing a 33rd La Liga crown and Zinedine Zidane's first title as a coach.
As for the hosts, Malaga are unable to finish higher than 11th and lower than 13th in the table, but will be aiming to end the season on a potentially defining note against Los Merengues.
Malaga
© SilverHubThe hosts go into their final fixture aiming to ensure that they finish with their best home run of the season under Juande Ramos, which could potentially see them put together five back-to-back wins on the Costa del Sol.
Ramos finds his side in remarkably good form going into the end of the season. After losing away to Deportivo de La Coruna midway through April, Malaga are now unbeaten in their last five domestic fixtures, having picked up four wins and a draw.
The major subplot developing beneath this fixture is the historical ties that Malaga coach Michel shares with Madrid, having developed a legendary playing career in the capital. With that in mind, though, the coach has insisted that he will be doing all that he can to ensure that his side push Real all the way at the weekend.
Meanwhile, Malaga striker Sandro Ramirez, a former Barcelona player, has also stated that he would like nothing better than to score against Madrid and in turn contribute to Barca sneaking in to win the title.
One major concern for the mid-table side is their woeful La Liga form when coming up against Los Vikingos. As things stand, Madrid have lost just once in 15 league fixtures with Sunday's hosts, who have been on the end of nine defeats.
Recent form: DWWWWL
Real Madrid
© AFPMadrid head into the contest needing just a single point in order to claim their 33rd La Liga title and their first since 2011-12, which was picked up under Jose Mourinho's stewardship.
Aiming to build from last season's triumph in the Champions League, Zidane will unlikely be thinking of rotation despite their place in Europe's showpiece final this term too, meaning that Madrid will probably head into the contest at almost full strength.
Despite blips throughout the campaign, Real have now managed to score in their last 63 games in all competitions, which is now the longest run by a side featuring in the top five leagues across the continent.
Barcelona are lurking close behind Madrid, who lead with a three-point margin, and Luis Enrique's side would claim the title should they finish level on points, given that Barca hold a superior head-to-head record in the two Clasico meetings this season. For that to happen, however, Madrid would have to lose at the La Rosaleda Stadium with Barcelona needing to beat Eibar at home.
Zidane's side beat Celta Vigo 4-1 during the week and Los Blancos will be confident of securing at the least the required point, if not more, come the end of Sunday evening, especially when considering that talisman Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 15 goals in 15 La Liga games against Malaga.
Recent form: WWWWWL
Team News
© SilverHubGiven the significance of the fixture, Zidane is unlikely to give anyone a rest, leaving Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to start in attack, while Isco is also expected to remain in the hole against his former club.
At the back, Nacho may return to right-back in place of Danilo, with Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane continuing in the middle of defence.
As for the home side, Malaga will remain without a number of players through long-term injury, including Zdravko Kuzmanovic, Bakary Kone and Roberto Rosales.
Ramos is expected to hand appearances to Martin Demichelis, Duda and Weligton at some point too, as they all prepare to play their final games at La Rosaleda.
Malaga possible starting lineup:
Kameni; Miguel Torres, Llorente, Hernandez, Ricca, Recio, Fornals, Jony, Keko, Juan Carlos, Ramirez
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Navas; Nacho, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo, Kroos, Modric, Casemiro, Isco, Benzema, Ronaldo
Head To Head
Madrid hold the dominant position when considering the history between these two teams. Across 15 league fixtures, Real have lost just once against Malaga, while picking up nine victories and five draws.
We say: Malaga 1-3 Real Madrid
Madrid will clearly want to put this fixture to bed as early as possible and will inevitably be looking to win this fixture instead of trying to cling on for a title-winning point. Malaga have a tremendous home record of late, but that might not be enough to prevent a near-to-full strength Real side pushing on to claim the La Liga crown in emphatic fashion.
