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Malaga to pose problems for Barca

Xinhua, January 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

FC Barcelona can move to the top of the BBVA Primera Liga for 24 hours at least if they are able to win away to a much improved Malaga on Saturday afternoon.

Barca, who are able to recall Luis Suarez, who was suspended for Wednesday's Cup game in Bilbao, need all three points to overtake Atletico Madrid at the table.

Meanwhile they will wait to see if Leo Messi is able to play after the Argentinean missed out in midweek because of a slight muscle strain. If Messi doesn't recover in time then Munir, who opened the scoring on Wednesday night, looks likely to get the nod.

Luis Enrique has a couple of players who definitely won't make the plane as left back Jordi Alba and central defender Jeremy Mathieu are both injured.

The club is not without problems, however, and midfielder, Sergio Busquets could face disciplinary action for his comments about referee Gonzalez Gonzalez following the win in Bilbao, while Javier Mascherano was sentenced to a year in prison on Thursday after admitting charges of tax avoidance. (He is unlikely to actually spend time behind bars, however, after cutting a deal with prosecutors). Meanwhile Messi will appear in court on similar charges next week, although it's fair to say tax issues have not been a distraction for the striker.

Barca played some of their best football for a while in Bilbao, and will need to repeat it against a rival who struggled to score goals for a long time this season, before finding their form in recent weeks.

Malaga's 2-1 defeat to Sevilla last weekend put an end to a run of seven matches without defeat, which has seen them climb from the relegation zone to a comfortable place in mid-table and in front of a full La Rosaleda Stadium they could well make life difficult for Barca. Endit