Zinedine Zidane's side are now within touching distance of the championship crown following their victory over Celta Vigo on Wednesday evening. Losing to Barcelona in the final Clasico of the campaign last month handed their rivals the head-to-head advantage, which means Madrid must amass more points than the Catalan club in order to finish on top of the pile in the Spanish first division for only the second time since 2008. Barcelona will almost certainly hold up their end of the bargain by getting the better of Eibar in front of their own supporters at the Camp Nou, so Madrid will have to take at least a point from their visit to La Rosaleda if they want to add another league title to the Santiago Bernabeu trophy cabinet.
Malaga have nothing but pride left to play for on the final weekend, with both relegation and European qualification no longer possible for Michel's men. The Boquerones cannot even achieve a top-half finish - they are currently residing in 11th spot but will not be able to make up the seven-point margin separating them from 10th-placed Espanyol - and there is a good chance that their lack of an obtainable target will play into Madrid's hands this weekend.
The league leaders will have to make do without Gareth Bale (calf), James Rodriguez (foot) and Dani Carvajal (hamstring), but central defender Pepe has recovered from a broken rib and could be included among the substitutes. Madrid's remarkable strength in depth has been evidenced by Zidane's rotation policy in the last few weeks: the former France international has switched between an 'A' and a 'B' team of late as he seeks to balance the dual demands of La Liga and the Champions League, but he will name his strongest possible starting XI against Malaga - a selection that will include Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Sergio Ramos among others.
Malaga, meanwhile, will be unable to call upon the services of Bakary Kone (Achilles tendon), Duda (foot), Carlos Kameni (calf), Robson Weligton (knee) and Zdravko Kuzmanovic (Achilles tendon), but Roberto Rosales and Adalberto Penaranda could both be involved after regaining their fitness following groin injuries.
Taking everything into account, it is worth backing Real Madrid to beat Malaga and win the La Liga title ahead of Barcelona. There is little value to be had in simply placing a bet on the favourites to win, though, so in this case it would be worth considering the correct scoreline market instead. A 2-0 Madrid triumph is offered at reasonable odds, while an alternative option would be Zidane's men to win without conceding. Whichever selection you ultimately go for, it is highly unlikely that Madrid will throw away their commanding position heading into the final weekend.
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