The twentieth round of the Spanish Championship in its 2017/2018 season, the first of the second round, will be complemented this Monday, January 22. In the Municipal stadium of Ipurua, the Eibar receives Malaga closing the schedule. The kickoff is scheduled for 18h (Brasília time).

The recent performance of Eibar

After an early swing, Eibar, who is making his fourth season in the elite division of European football, managed to increase his performance and dream of conquering for the first time in his history in a continental tournament.
The run of four wins and a draw was disrupted on the previous day by the home defeat of 1-0 to Atletico Madrid. The stumbling block to the vice-leader of the competition, however, can not be considered a disaster.
This Monday, the situation is different. Eighth placed at the end of the first round with 27 points (eight wins, three draws and eight losses), to maintain his ambition the Eibar can not lose points for a team that is sunk in the relegation zone.
The field factor was being very well taken advantage of by Eibar. The team had won all four previous matches against Atlético. Appears as LaLiga’s seventh best agent.
To try to confirm the favoritism, the technician Jose Mendilibar has practically all his cast at disposal. The only doubt is in relation to defender David Junca (eight games in the Spanish 2017/2018 Championship, no goal). A thigh injury took him out of the last five games. Even if it is released by the medical department, it is more likely that the player will be related only to the reservation bank.

The current form of Malaga

Defeated in the last four matches, Malaga continue in the relegation zone of the Spanish Championship. He finished the first round in the nineteenth (penultimate) position with 11 points (three wins, two draws and 14 losses). The same score of Las Palmas, lantern.
The difference for Alavés, seventeenth and first out of the sticking region, was seven points at the end of the nineteenth round. That means that even if all the results are favorable, Malaga will need at least three rounds to leave the sticking region.
Worse than the mathematical situation is the lack of perspective of the club led by Jose Manuel Gonzalez Lopes. In the last four matches, Malaga failed to score a goal. Of the 54 finals he tried, only nine were on target and ended up in the hands of opponents goalkeepers.
To make matters worse, the team has four of its midfielders injured. Juan Carlos (ten matches in the 2017/2018 Spanish Championship without a goal), Chori Castro (12 games, three goals), Manuel Iturra (two matches, no goal) and Diego Rolan (11 matches, three goals) are in the infirmary. The list of injuries is completed by defender Miguel Torres (a game, no goal).

History of the matches Eibar – Málaga
There were only 11 matches involving the teams throughout history. The Eibar won only three times. However, he won the two most recent duels. In the first round of the current season, even as a visitor, he made 1-0. Malaga collected five wins and three draws.

Teams such as Eibar, which make counter-attack and consistent defense the basis of their strategy, often encounter great difficulties when they enter the field as a favorite and have almost the obligation to win. The recent improvement in club performance, however, indicates that there are conditions to overcome this difficulty in front of a team that will hardly escape the relegation. The quotation for the constituents’ victory is 1.66 on Bet365. Draw returns 3.50. Success of Malaga pays 6.00 per real invested. Prices in effect at 14:24 on 1/18/2018.