Malaga vs Levante preview - Malaga aiming to end on high

Posted Thursday, May 15, 2014 by PA

Malaga are determined to end the season on a winning note for their fans, with their place in the Primera Division already assured ahead of Friday night's visit of Levante.

A superb 1-1 draw at league leaders Atletico Madrid last weekend means Bernd Schuster's side head into the final round of fixtures with a six-point cushion over the bottom three.

Schuster on Thursday confirmed it would be his final match in charge after being told by the club his services will not be required next season, despite joining on a five-year deal last June.

And both the coach and players want to finish in style, having achieved their aim of keeping the Andalusian club in the top flight.

Schuster told a press conference: "The most important thing is that our goals have been achieved. Tomorrow we can enjoy the match without any tension and we want to end with a win.

"Neither team have anything to play for and can therefore put a little bit more of themselves into the match. We have a responsibility to our fans and will try to win by any means."

Goalkeeper Willy Caballero was pleased with how the season panned out, despite their brush with relegation.

He told the club's website: "It's been a great year as we achieved our goals, and, although it was tough at times, we're pleased with our performance.

"Although there are certain aspects we need to improve on, we did score a lot of goals. I hope we end the season well on Friday."

Schuster has several absences to contend with for the visit of Levante, with Marcos Angeleri and Duda both suspended. Jesus Gamez, Flavio, Mounir El Hamdaoui, Sergio Sanchez and Fernando Tissone are also sidelined through injury.

Levante will be without Hector Rodas (hamstring), Ruben Garcia (ankle) and Pedro Lopez (suspended), but is hoping to see his side pick up a third successive victory having beaten Atletico and derby rivals Valencia in recent weeks.

Joaquin Caparros' men can end the campaign in the top eight with a victory, and that is something the coach has set his sights on.

"We intend to get a good result against Malaga. We want to be ambitious and we want to compete," he told reporters.

"Malaga have a lot of quality up front. They are a good team. But we will try to round it all off on a happy note."