La Liga champions Barcelona will welcome Malaga to the Bernabeu in their first home game of the new Spanish league season on Saturday.
Luis Enrique's side opened the new campaign with a win last time out, while Malaga were held to a draw on the opening weekend.
Barcelona
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Having been beaten by Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup at the start of the season, Barcelona made amends with a 1-0 win over the same opposition in their first outing of the league campaign, with Luis Suarez netting the only goal of the match. Lionel Messi missed a penalty during that game, which was dominated by the Catalan side.
The win comes following a mixed pre-season, where the European champions beat Roma, Los Angeles Galaxy and Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup, while losing to Manchester United, Fiorentina and Chelsea.
There has been lots of talk about Neymar leaving Camp Nou this week, with Manchester United reportedly interested in the Brazilian. Despite the Premier League side reportedly willing to make a big-money offer, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu has insisted that the striker is not for sale.
Neymar helped the club score 110 goals in La Liga last season, which was only bettered by Real Madrid. It was the champions' defence that really set them apart from their rivals in the 2014-15 season though, as they kept 23 clean sheets while letting in just 21 goals. Atletico Madrid had the next best defence, with 19 clean sheets and 29 goals conceded.
After this fixture, Barcelona have two weeks off for the international break, but Enrique will already be looking forward to their fixture on September 13, when they will face 2013-14 champions Atletico at the Vicente Calderon.
Several members of Barcelona's squad have been in Monaco in the build-up to this match for the Champions League draw, learning that the European champions will face Bayer Leverkusen, Roma and BATE Borisov in the group stage of the competition.
Recent form: WWWWDL
Recent form (all competitions): LWWLDW
Malaga
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Malaga has a difficult start to the season, hosting Europa League champions Sevilla. However, Javi Gracia's side secured a point from the fixture, holding their opponents to a goalless draw.
The manager has insisted that his side should have won that match though, having had a goal disallowed against 10-man Sevilla, with Charles's late effort ruled out for offside.
Malaga won just one of their last 11 outings in the league last season, beating Almeria 2-1 back on May, which is their only victory in La Liga since March.
Los Boquerones finished ninth in the Spanish top flight last season, which means that the club missed out on European qualification for a second straight campaign following their 11th-placed finish the year before.
Scoring goals was a problem for Malaga in the previous campaign, with the club netting just 42 times in the top flight, putting them just one place above relegated Almeria in the attacking rankings. The club has been actively bringing in more striking options in the transfer window, including recapturing Roque Santa Cruz on loan from Cruz Azul as well as Charles from La Liga rivals Celta Vigo.
Like Barcelona, Malaga have a two-week break after this fixture. When they return from the international break, the team will face a number of sides that are likely to be around them in the table, including Getafe and Villarreal.
Recent form: LLWLLW
Recent form (all competitions): LLWWWD
Team News
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The home side will have to cope without Dani Alves after he managed just 19 minutes against Athletic Bilbao last time out, picking up a groin injury that will keep him out for around a month.
Sergio Busquets is expected to be available though, despite sustaining an ankle knock during last weekend's win, but defender Gerard Pique remains suspended.
Neymar sat out the opening fixture of the league season, having missed the last few weeks with the mumps virus. He has since returned to training, although Enrique believes that the illness will leave him struggling to reach his peak for some time, so he may be limited to a role on the bench.
Malaga will be able to call upon captain Weligton again after he served a suspension carried over from last season during their first match of the season, having been sent off in the last game of the 2014-15 campaign. However, he has been carrying a knock, limiting him in training.
Ignacio Camacho and Flavio Ferreira continue to work their way back to fitness after sustaining knocks in pre-season, but have been working outdoors in training with the squad, so may be available for the trip to Camp Nou.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Bravo, Roberto, Mascherano, Alba, Vermaelen, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta, Suarez, Messi, Rafinha
Malaga possible starting lineup:
Kameni, Redal, Angeleri, Weligton, Boka, Carlos, Amrabat, Tissone, Darder, Charles, Cop
Head To Head
Malaga secured a rare win at Camp Nou when the sides last met in February, with Juanmi scoring the only goal of the fixture to hand the visitors a 1-0 victory.
That result ended a 20-match run without a win against Barcelona for Malaga stretching back to 2003, when Malaga claimed their biggest victory over this weekend's opponents, winning 5-1.
In 30 previous meetings between these two sides, Malaga have only won three times, with Barcelona picking up 21 wins, while six have ended in draws. Barcelona's 6-0 win in 2009 was the most one-sided result between the two teams.
We say: Barcelona 3-0 Malaga
Barcelona were not at their best in their opening match of the season, but they still managed to secure a win. With home advantage, a further week of preparation and the prospect of Neymar's return, Enrique will be expecting his side to pose more of a threat in front of goal this time out.
Sian Cowper
