MADRID, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona have little recovery time before they entertain Malaga in the Camp Nou stadium on Saturday night just 70 hours after defeating Olympiakos in front of their fans in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Barca coach Ernesto Valverde carried out some squad rotations in midweek, with players such as Lucas Digne and Sergi Roberto getting a game, but Jordi Alba and Nelson Semedo are likely to continue on Saturday.
The only major doubt for Valverde is striker Luis Suarez, who a slight thigh injury, although that didn't stop him finishing Wednesday's game.
While Barcelona are top of the table with 22 points from a possible 24 and a four-point cushion over second place Valencia, Malaga are in a very different situation with seven defeats and one solitary draw from their opening eight matches this season.
Last weekend saw them lose 2-0 at home to Leganes and many are surprised coach Michel Gonzalez has managed to cling onto his job over the past week, although a heavy defeat in the Camp Nou would surely mean the end of his tenure at the club.
Malaga travel without the suspended Recio, who has been their best player this season, as well as injured winger Jony and young winger Javi Ontiveros, who has been separated from the first team squad by Michel for disciplinary reasons.
Malaga will probably remember that in their last three visits to Barcelona they have kept two clean sheets, holding Barca to a 0-0 draw and winning 1-0, as well as suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat. Meanwhile last season saw them defeat Barca in their La Rosaleda Stadium in a match which probably cost Barca the Liga Santander title.
The problem could be that Barca also remember last season's defeat and are out for revenge, which could spell bad news for Michel unless his side improve drastically.
