It will be up to Malaga to try and stop La Liga leaders Barcelona at their La Rosaleda, but that clearly looks a very difficult task.

Having won all four matches, scoring 11 goals without conceding, the Catalans will fancy their chances of extending the impressive run.

The time when Malaga were vying for top 4 positions in La Liga and taking part in the Champions League knockout stages looks like a distant past at the moment, but los Boquerones are doing well considering the circumstances.

Since the Qatari owners stopped pumping the money into the club, the squad have been constantly getting weaker, with more important players leaving in the summer.

And while the club did sign several quality players, the likes of Caballero, Gamez, Eliseu and El Hamdaoui all left, leaving coach Javi Garcia to rebuild the squad.

Malaga were extremely lucky to defeat Athletic Bilbao in their opening fixture, but 3-0 loss to Valencia as well as draws against Levante and Espanyol hinted they could be in for a very difficult campaign.

And with los Boquerones bagging mere three goals in four fixtures so far, they are 2.20 (6/5) not to score against Barcelona.

Carlos Kameni continues to be preferred to World Cup star Guillermo Ochoa, while Fernando Tissone is the only unavailable player for the home side.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Kameni – Rosales, Sanchez, Weligton, Antunes – Darder, Camacho – Horta, Luis Alberto, Juanmi – Santa Cruz.

Many were wondering how Barcelona would play this term following some major changes at Camp Nou, but the first signs are enough to suggest the Catalans should improve on the previous season.

While record signing Luis Suarez awaits for his ban to expire, the likes of Bravo, Mathieu and Rakitic have slotted straight into the starting line-up, proving to be great signings for the club.

Meanwhile, Leo Messi, Neymar as well as starlets Munir El Haddadi and Santo Ramirez have been scoring goals for fun, helping the team to five wins in as many games in the new season.

What is even more impressive is the fact the Catalans haven’t conceded a single goal this term, and they are 2.50 (3/2) to defeat Malaga to nil.

Having scored three goals in four league matches this term, which is not that impressive for his standards, Leo Messi is 1.57 (4/7) to get on the scoresheet at La Rosaleda.

Ivan Rakitic and Neymar look set to miss out the Malaga clash through injury, while Thomas Vermaelen has resumed full training.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Bravo – Alves, Mascherano, Pique, Alba – Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta – Pedro, Messi, Munir.