Having established their hold at the top of La Liga, Real Madrid will want to strengthen that position further when they travel to Malaga on Saturday.
With the second leg last 16 Champions League tie against Schalke pretty much academic, Carlo Ancelotti can fully concentrate on the Spanish league this weekend - and the next - with three points against Malaga taking Real to 70 points from 28 games, and a six-point lead from Atletico Madrid, who play in the late game on Saturday.
Barcelona could possibly be staring at a seven-point gap when they host Osasuna on Sunday, and that will provide Real further motivation going into the match at Estadio La Rosaleda.
"We are going to play with the same attitude and intensity as in the match against Levante because the players are aware that La Liga will be decided in the final match of the season," Ancelotti said. "Malaga is an important game and we have to prepare very well for it against a team that has won in El Sadar and will be confident of improving."
Next weekend will of course be THE weekend for Real and Barcelona with the El Clasico, and Ancelotti will look to drill in the importance of keeping that epic encounter hidden away for the time being.
"I have a lot of confidence in the professionalism, dedication and character of my players," the Italian added on Friday. "Tomorrow's game is important, as is next Sunday's. At this point in the season all the matches are important and they are all equally important. The team trained really well and they have been well focused. We have to bring intensity and concentration to the game.
"The team is focused on this match and not thinking about anything else. Thinking about other things is not good. We have an important match and we are only thinking about putting in a good performance.
"We do not talk about the Clasico, we do not think about whether or not our rivals are going to lose. The most important match of all is tomorrow's and I will put out the best team possible."
Malaga are in 13th place at the moment with 29 points, but find themselves a little too close to the bottom three, with only three points separating them from 18th placed Almeria.
Bernd Schuster will certainly see any point against this rampaging Real side, unbeaten in 17 games in La Liga, as a bonus, but will also be aware of the positive knock-on effect a positive result against their opponents of Saturday can have on his players.
"We're not thinking about any other results, just concentrating on winning our matches," Malaga full-back Vitorio Antunes said. "If we win, then we'll definitely stay up. We always try our best in every game."
In the corresponding fixture last season, Malaga stunned Real Madrid 3-2 with Roque Santa Cruz grabbing a brace, and Isco scoring the other against his current team. Ancelotti will do well to ensure there is no repeat of that result again this year, while Isco will want to add his name to the scoresheet against his former club.
La Liga: Malaga vs Real Madrid Live TV Information (Match starts 8 pm local time, 12.30 am IST (Sunday), 3 pm ET, 7 pm GMT)
Country | TV Broadcaster |
India | Star Sports 1 and Star Sports HD1 |
US | Bein Sports USA |
Canada | Bein Sports Canada |
United Kingdom | Sky Sports 4 |
Middle East | Bein Sports Arabia |
Brazil | ESPN |
Africa | SuperSport |
Latin America | Direct TV |
La Liga: Malaga vs Real Madrid Online Live Streaming Information (8 pm local time, 12.30 am IST (Sunday), 3 pm ET, 7 pm GMT):
Country | Online links |
India | HERE |
US | HERE |
UK | HERE |
Middle East | HERE |
Canada | HERE |
Brazil | HERE |
South Africa | HERE |
Latin America | HERE |
Team news: Malaga: Schuster will be without Jesus Gamez and Sergi Darder through suspension, while Eliseu, Weligton and Mounir El Hamadaoui remain sidelined.
Real Madrid: Alvaro Arbeloa is ruled out with a knee injury along with long-term absentee Sami Khedira. Centre-back Sergio Ramos will also miss the trip due to suspension.
Expected lineups: Malaga: Caballero; Angeleri, Sanchez, Wellington, Antunes; Camacho, Tissone; Samuel, Duda, Portilo; Santa Cruz.
Real Madrid: Lopez; Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo; Isco, Alonso, Modric; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo.
Prediction: 4-1 to Real Madrid