Having started life under Pepe Mel in good fashion, Depor have gone off the boil of late and are now without a win in four. Such form doesn’t bode well ahead of this one, especially as they face a Malaga side who’ll be riding high after beating Barcelona last time out.
After a rocky spell of their own, Malaga appear to have hit something of a purple patch of late and put in a solid performance when getting the better of Messi and co. last weekend. Such a big win will have done wonders for their confidence levels and the side from Spain’s Costa del Sol are fancied to keep things going here. Backing the visitors on the ‘Draw No Bet’ market makes plenty of appeal.
Over the last few weeks, Malaga have certainly looked on the up, that’s for sure. Securing a draw away at Leganés was respectable, as was keeping a clean sheet in doing so, while their loss against big guns Atlético Madrid wasn’t without promise. Such promise was confirmed in their penultimate fixture – a 1-0 away victory over Gijón – before Míchel’s men showed just what they’re capable of in that win against Barca.
With three clean sheets in their last four matches, the visitors have looked defensively sound and, with both Sandro Ramírez and the exciting Juanpi back in the side, they look a threat in the final third.
As for the hosts, well, Depor are seemingly doing their best to play themselves back into trouble. Pepe Mel’s men are without a win in four, three of which they’ve lost, and have shown little signs of turning things around. Defensively, they’re conceding a few too many having shipped eight in their last four, while two goals scored during that time is simply not good enough. Against a Malaga side who’re both organised and defensively adept, the hosts could be in for another tough afternoon.
An additional bet ahead of this one is ‘Sandro Ramírez to Score Anytime’. It’s no coincidence that Malaga’s return to form has come about now that the forward has returned from injury. The 21-year-old, who signed from Barcelona in the summer, has shown great maturity this season and is proving just how useful he can be when given a run of games. With nine league goals in 21 appearances this season, the young Spaniard has been a real asset in the final third and, having notched in each of his last two, is in good form right now. Against a Depor side who’ve been struggling a bit of late, the striker should get his share of chances here and looks a good bet to keep his current scoring run going.
All of our current tips can be found here.