Malaga vs Real Madrid preview - Real close in on club record

Posted Friday, November 28, 2014 by PA

Red-hot Real Madrid will break a club record if they can extend their remarkable winning sequence to 16 games when they go to Malaga on Saturday.

Wednesday's 1-0 Champions League triumph at Basle saw Carlo Ancelotti's men rack up a 15th successive victory to equal a record that has only been achieved twice before in the Spanish giants' illustrious history.

Miguel Munoz's side first reached the mark in the 1960/61 season before Jose Mourinho's team matched it during the 2011/12 campaign.

Those achievements could well be eclipsed this weekend, though, with Madrid heading to Malaga in seemingly unstoppable form. During their winning streak, the European champions have scored 57 goals, conceding just eight.

Defender Alvaro Arbeloa said: "I think we all like statistics. It would be nice to break Mourinho's and Munoz's record. It would be something great.

"It's not a title, it doesn't assure you of anything, but you always like to do better than teams from the past."

Madrid could have easier opponents against whom to try and get the record, though.

After a poor start to the season, Malaga have rocketed up the table and were on a five-match winning streak before last weekend's 3-1 loss at champions Atletico Madrid.

Despite that setback, Javi Gracia's men are still sixth in the table, three points off the Champions League spots, and Arbeloa knows the Andalusian side are more than just a potential banana skin for the league leaders.

Arbeloa, speaking at a book presentation, was quoted by Marca as saying: "We're in a winning run and doing well, but we're going to Malaga's ground. They always make it very difficult for us, and they are playing very well."

Madrid go into the weekend with a two-point lead over Barcelona at the summit, with Atletico two points further back in third.

Malaga are five points adrift of the top three, but, after winning just one of their opening six Primera Division matches, they are a side on the up and defender Miguel Torres now has Ancelotti's star-studded team in his sights.

The former Madrid defender told a press conference: "Matches like this are extremely demanding are require complete concentration. It'll be very difficult but we believe in ourselves.

"Our philosophy is be daring and have courage in our play. We'll try our best to pinpoint their weaknesses and take if from there."