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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Villarreal

Villarreal’s nightmare season got even worse with a shock 2-1 defeat to rock-bottom Real Zaragoza last weekend. Two goals in the final five minutes gave Zaragoza just their fourth win of the entire campaign and continued Villarreal’s shocking form on the road.

They have now lost nine, drawn three and won just once in their 13 away games this season.

It is hard to believe that Villarreal actually finished fourth in La Liga last season, qualifying for the Champions League, but that defeat at Zaragoza has left them in 17th place, just three points above the drop zone.

The result also means a win against their Madrid-based opponents on Monday is even more important if they are to avoid dropping further into the relegation mire – the frightening prospect of going down is suddenly a very real one.

The visit of Getafe – who are just two places and two points better off – represents a huge opportunity for the Yellow Submarine to gain an advantage over a relegation rival, jump up three places in the table and create breathing space between themselves and the bottom three.

On paper they should take the points. Villarreal have an impressive record versus Getafe at home, winning six and drawing one of their last seven meetings.

You also have to consider their impressive form at El Madrigal, despite their poor league position.

Villarreal have lost just once all season in the league on their home ground – a crazy statistic if you look at their position in the table. Indeed, only Barcelona have lost less at home in the league.

Their haul of 20 goals scored is also only bettered by one team outside of the top six.

The Azulones meanwhile haven’t won in their last five, and have won just three times on the road this season.

The return of Marco Ruben is another reason to put your money behind Villarreal. The Argentine has hit seven goals in 22 appearances and is set to return from injury after missing last weekend’s defeat.

Therefore, despite their woes and actually being below Getafe in the table, it is well worth backing José Francisco Molina’s men for the win.

A 2-0 victory is a handy priced 7/1, while a Villarreal half time/full time is another option at 15/8.

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It has been a miserable campaign for the Yellow Submarine, whose supporters over the years have been more used to battling it out for Champions League football at the top end of the table. However this fixture is arguably as big as any tussles they may have had in the past to push for a top-four finish as they are in desperate need of the maximum points in this clash at El Madrigal.

Jose Francisco Molina’s side continued their struggles after the winter break after they followed up a creditable 2-2 derby home draw against high-flying neighbours Valencia with a dismal 3-0 drubbing away at Atletico Madrid last week, to leave them in perilous trouble in 19th position, but not cut adrift of safety just yet.

Therefore a win against the team directly above them would be just the tonic for Villarreal and they are set to be boosted by the fitness of leading scorer Marco Ruben, as the Argentinian has shaken off a muscular problem and is feeling in good shape.

Looking ahead to the important fixture, Ruben said: “This game is worth three points, we know and we are clear the difficulty [Sporting will pose]. But these are the games you have to win and go all for it.”

Villarreal’s task will be made all the more difficult by the fact Sporting Gijon will arrive on the back of a morale-boosting 2-1 home win against a big-spending Malaga side last weekend.

However, they marked their return from the break with a 2-0 defeat at mid-table Real Betis so need to rediscover the away form which has helped them pick up two wins on the road from eight games this term.

Sporting Gijon coach Manuel Preciado will be hampered slightly on the injury front as he assembles a 22-man squad for the trip as Ricardo and Gaston Sangoy are unlikely to feature. Looking ahead to the game and both sides know a win would enhance their survival hopes, but that could result in a touch of nerves from both sets of players which will not make for a classic encounter.

The previous meetings between these two sides have been closely-fought matches with last season’s head-to-head at El Madrigal ending in a 1-1 draw, while the return fixture also finished with the same score-line. The 2009/10 season saw both sides win their respective home games 1-0, while Villarreal did the double on Sporting Gijon in the previous campaign but the winning margin has only ever been by one goal.

All the signs are that it will not be a classic and it could be that both sides will have to settle for a share of the spoils.

Prediction: Draw 90 Minutes @ 12/5
Value Bet: Villarreal/Draw HT/FT @ 16/1

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Manchester City

As far as the Premier League campaign goes, things could not be going better for manager Roberto Mancini and his men, as they sit pretty on the top of the table ahead of rivals Manchester United.

However, it has been a rocky road on their campaign in the Champions League with a draw against Napoli and a lesson in big European nights by one of the best, Bayern Munich, in 2-0 defeat.

City have had time to take stock of the position in what is a tough group for their debut season in the competition, and convincing wins in the Premier League over Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa will not have done their confidence any harm.

What will have pleased Mancini will be the fact his side are scoring goals from all over the park, with six different players scoring in their last two outings in the top flight.

The recent performances of striker Mario Balotelli will also please the Italian tactician, as the former Inter Milan star has shown some glimpses of the form that made him a highly rated star at the San Siro.

All of City’s stars will have to be on top form if they are to get a result against Villarreal at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, as the Spanish outfit have plenty of European experience to draw from.

Former United striker Giuseppe Rossi (8/1 first goalscorer) remains their key attacking threat and he would love to get one over on his former rivals from his time at Old Trafford.

The Yellow Submarine have a number of gifted players dotted around their starting XI with the likes of Jonathan de Guzman, Nilmar and skipper Marcos Senna.

City will have to be wary of their creative talents if they want to secure all three points, but with the form the Blues are in at the moment, they have enough firepower to beat the La Liga outfit.

Meanwhile, local rivals United get set to face new Champions League opposition in the form of Romanian side Otelul Galati (Otelul Galati 14/1, draw 11/2, United 1/5 – match prices).

Last year’s finalists will have to do without the services of experienced defender Rio Ferdinand, who has been left out of the squad with Nemanja Vidic coming back into the side from a calf injury.

Out of favour striker Dimitar Berbatov (4/1 first goalscorer), who missed United’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool has travelled to Romania and could feature in Sir Alex Ferguson’s starting XI.

Otelul Galati only lost 1-0 to Benfica in their last outing in the Champions League and will be no pushovers, but United should have the quality to head back to Old Trafford with the three points.

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Bayer Leverkusen’s

The Yellow Submarine hold a narrow 3-2 advantage from last week’s first leg in Germany but they cannot rest on their laurels as Bayer’s record on the road this season is phenomenal.

In the Bundesliga, they have won nine of their 13 away matches while in Europe they have also impressed. Josef Heynckes’ team are unbeaten in their last six European away matches and, prior to the first leg, were unbeaten in ten Europa League matches this season.

A 2-0 win for Bayer (14/1) would send them through and certainly shock Juan Carlos Garrido’s team.

Elsewhere, Portugal should be well represented in the last eight as both Benfica and FC Porto are in pole position in their respective ties.

Porto are the runaway Primeira Liga leaders and seem certain to clinch their 25th title as they are currently 13 points clear of second-placed Benfica with only seven games of the campaign remaining.

They secured a superb 1-0 win in Moscow against CSKA last week thanks to Fredy Guarin’s goal but need to be wary as the Russian side, winners of the 2005 UEFA Cup, have already won three times away from home in this season’s competition.

However, such is Porto’s recent form that they could go all the way in the Europa League this season, and they are currently 10/3 to win the competition.

Benfica’s progress is less certain as they travel to the French capital for their second leg holding a narrow 2-1 advantage against Paris St Germain after the first encounter between the two teams at the Stadium of Light.

However, they could hold the psychological advantage as they had to come from behind in Lisbon after Peguy Luyindula had given PSG the lead. Goals by Maxi Pereira and Franco Jara turned the tie around and Benfica have the attacking prowess to score in Paris and clinch their place in the quarter-finals.

As well as CSKA, Zenit St Petersburg also lost their first leg but the 2008 winners of the competition have a massive task ahead of them as they crashed 3-0 to FC Twente last week.

Last season’s Dutch champions have already knocked out another Russian side in Rubin Kazan after moving into the Europa League from the Champions League and have the expertise to finish the job off in Thursday’s second leg.

With Zenit forced on to the attack, Twente seem certain to have the capabilites to score at least one goal on the counter-attack (7/1 for Zenit to win 2-1).

Spartak Moscow are the best-placed of the Russian sides to progress as they pulled off a fine 1-0 first-leg victory against Ajax in the Amsterdam ArenA.

Valeri Karpin’s team will be only too aware though that in the last round they struggled to draw 1-1 with Basle in Moscow after earning a fine 3-2 first-leg win in Switzerland (Spartak Moscow 13/8, Draw 23/10, Ajax 13/8).

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