Lionel Messi is the only player to have featured in every encounter for Barcelona this season. La Pulga, who is on break at national level with Argentina, is back to his best. His commanding performance against Levante last Sunday offered Blaugrana fans much to smile about. Although he missed a first-half penalty by shooting off target, Messi did redeem himself late in the match with an excellent goal to punish the hosts’ terrible defence.
Confidence is high in the camp of the Catalans. The embarrassing days under ex-manager Tata Martino are long gone, as defender Jordi Alba recently noted:
“The truth is that last season wasn’t very good, either for me or for the team. After the World Cup and Luis Enrique’s arrival, we were more motivated and we’re working much harder. It’s been some time since we’ve all been so happy.”
On Wednesday, Barcelona will be facing Malaga with the aim of clinching three more points. Luis Enrique’s side has scored 11 goals already whereas Malaga have netted only three and allowed five. The Camp Nou home crowd could be in for another resounding victory. At this early stage in La Liga, the Catalans are only thinking about remaining focused, as Rakitic explained after beating Levante:
“The results that other teams get don’t matter much to us. We just have to work hard and we’re on the right track, although there’s still a lot to do.”
As of now, Barcelona have won each of their four fixtures in La Liga. Their 100 per cent record across all competitions is made more impressive by the fact that they are yet to concede a goal.
Malaga's starting lineup: Kameni, Rosales, Sanchez, Weligton, M. Torres; Castillejo, Camacho, Darder, Juanpi, Duda, Amrabat.
Barcelona's starting lineup: Bravo, Piqué, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi, Neymar, Bartra, Douglas, Jordi Alba.
Malaga's subs: Ochoa, Angeleri, L. Alberto, Recio, Santa Cruz, Juanmi, Samuel.
Barcelona's subs: Ter Stegen, Xavi, Mascherano, Sergi Roberto, Adriano, Sandro, Munir.
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