Thursday evening’s Primera Division action sees three games which involve teams scrapping for points to pull away from relegation trouble, while the pick of the matches has high-flying Malaga looking to boost their Champions League hopes at struggling Villarreal.

Manuel Pellegrini’s Costa del Sol outfit sit in third spot in the table after jumping above Valencia courtesy of the weekend’s 3-0 mauling of Racing Santander and travel to El Madrigal looking to secure another three points which will ensure Villarreal remain just outside the relegation places in 17th place.

Malaga have hit a decent run of form at the right time with six wins in their last nine games, while they have been boosted by the news Julio Baptista could return from a long-term foot injury before the end of the season.

Influential midfielder Jeremy Toulalan and goalkeeper Willy Caballero will both miss the run-in, but Spain international Joaquin Sanchez could figure against Villarreal on Thursday after a two-game injury absence.

Playmaker Santi Cazorla is also aiming to help Malaga defeat the club he left last summer in a 20million euros deal, but expects a tough encounter against his former team-mates.

“It will be a very difficult game, not only because they have a great team but because they are in a delicate situation and need the points,” he said.

Villarreal, who finished in fourth spot last season, have endured a disappointing campaign and are in a poor run of form with just one win in their last nine, so will have their work cut out.

Despite that, Yellow Submarine coach Miguel Angel Lotina feels Malaga ‘are a nice opponent for us’.

Malaga won 2-1 in the game between the clubs earlier this season, but Villarreal have not been beaten on home soil by Los Boquerones in the previous two Primera Division campaigns.

But with the run of form the two sides are on we expect the visitors to just have the edge on Thursday.

Prediction: Malaga Away 90 Minutes @ 7/4
Value Bet: Draw/Malaga HT/FT @ 9/2

Racing Santander go into Thursday’s home clash against Real Mallorca well aware that time is running out on their bid for survival as they currently sit in second-bottom spot and are seven points adrift of safety.

However Alvaro Cervera’s side are stuck in a poor run of form with four defeats and a draw in their last five games which has edged them closer to the drop.

Mallorca had eased their own relegation fears with two successive wins, before two straight defeats and a draw in the last three has left them looking over their shoulders once again.

Therefore it is a crunch fixture which could see Racing pull themselves back into contention for safety or Mallorca will virtually guarantee survival, while a draw will probably help the visitors out of the two sides.

Racing won last season’s home clash 2-0, but Mallorca edged the game earlier this season 2-1 so expect a close encounter.

It is a must-win match for Racing, but it does not seem that they have enough about them to get one and we expect Mallorca to secure a share of the spoils.

Prediction: Draw 90 Minutes @ 9/4
Value Bet: 1-1 Correct Score @ 11/2

Thursday’s third clash sees struggling Real Zaragoza, who occupy 18th place in the Primera Division travel to face a Sevilla side with ambitions of securing a top-six finish.

Zaragoza head to Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on the back of a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Barcelona on Saturday, but they had won the three games before that to move to within four points of fourth-bottom Villarreal.

Therefore Minolo Jimenez’s side should be in good spirits for the game against a Sevilla side which saw its hopes of a European place suffer a set-back in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao which also followed a run of three straight victories.

Sevilla coach Michel was disappointed with the weekend’s defeat and called on his players to respond quickly as they currently sit four points off sixth-placed Osasuna ahead of the game.

Sevilla have enjoyed the better of the head-to-heads with four wins in the last five meetings and that should continue on Thursday.

Prediction: Sevilla Home Win 90 Minutes @ 1/2
Value Bet: Sevilla 3-1 Correct Score @ 10/1

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