Malaga and Villarreal met at La Rosaleda Stadium this evening both looking to collect crucial points in the race for the La Liga European places.
The hosts perhaps had the better of proceedings until Villarreal's Jonathan dos Santos opened the scoring with the last kick of the half with a powerful volley from a tight angle.
Nordin Amrabat levelled for Malaga with a tidy lob on the hour mark, only three minutes after he had been adjudged offside in the build-up to what Sergi Darder thought was the equalising goal.
Neither side showed the ambition to win the game in the final stages as they settled for a 1-1 draw which keeps the Yellow Submarines one point ahead of their opponents in sixth in the table.
Read Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below to discover how the action unfolded in Spain.
Evening, all. Sports Mole will be bringing you live coverage of no fewer than five La Liga games over the weekend and the first of which is Malaga vs. Villarreal at at La Rosaleda Stadium.
It is a big game in the race for European football. A seven-match unbeaten run has seen the Yellow Submarines climb to sixth, three points off fourth, but Malaga are only one point behind them.
About 20 minutes until kickoff in Spain. Let's get to the team news shall we...
MALAGA: Kameni; Rosales, Angeleri, Torres, Antunes; Samuel, Recio, Darder, Castillejo; Duda, Amrabat
Subs: Ochoa, Casado, Filipenko, Luis Alberto, Juanpi, Ricardo Horta, Juanmi
Subs: Ochoa, Casado, Filipenko, Luis Alberto, Juanpi, Ricardo Horta, Juanmi
VILLARREAL: Asenjo; Mario, Gabriel, V.Ruiz, Rukavina; J. Dos Santos, Trigueros, Bruno, Cheryshev; Vietto, Uche
Subs: Juan Carlos, Dorado, Marin, Pina, Giovani Dos Santos, Moises Gomez, Moreno
Subs: Juan Carlos, Dorado, Marin, Pina, Giovani Dos Santos, Moises Gomez, Moreno
Javi Gracia has ringed the changes from Malaga's 2-0 first-leg Copa del Rey win over Levante. First-choice goalkeeper Carlos Kameni is one of six players recalled, with Sergi Darder and Samu Castillejo among the others in attack.
Villarreal beat David Moyes's Real Sociedad, conquerers of Barcelona only three days earlier, 1-0 in midweek and also rotated heavily. Giovani dos Santos is one several players dropped, but his brother Jonathan does start for the visitors.
The Yellow Submarines have Luciano Vietto and Ikechukwu Uche, who have 13 goals between them this season, back up front, as well as Denis Tcherychev and Bruno Soriano in midfield.
ONE TO WATCH: Vietto has five goals in as many games and his recent performances have attracted apparent attention from Liverpool and other top European clubs. The 21-year-old Argentine striker is as good as creating things for others as he is for himself.
PREDICTION: Villarreal have already picked up some good away results this season and I fancy them to secure another today. Their front pair could be too much for Malaga. 2-0.
KICKOFF: The action is underway in Malaga. Both sides are in their traditional kits. This could be a good one.
A bright start from Malaga. Duda's early through ball threatened to release Samu Castillejo before the offside flag was raised. They won a corner soon after, but Villarreal cleared without trouble.
This has been a pretty subdued start. We are yet to have a shot on goal and the ball is spending much of its time in the middle third. Malaga are having more of the possession, but aren't making much progress with it.
A delay following an injury to Marcos Angeleri slows down what has already been a slow first 10 minutes. The former Sunderland full-back is eventually okay to continue following a foul by Denis Cheryshev.
BOOKING: Cheryshev has already flown into a few challenges and tests his luck once too often. He is shown a yellow card for a hack on Recio.
CHANCES! Nordin Amrabat decides that it is about time someone worked a goalkeeper and lets fly from a 35-yard free kick. Sergio Asenjo parries away his low shot. At the other end, Cheryshev cannot keep down a header from Uche's cross.
Villarreal allowed long-serving midfielder Cani to leave on loan to Atletico Madrid this week, following a reported fallout with the management staff. Without the 33-year-old, there is more pressure on Cheryshev to be their creative force. The Russian is having a great season, though, having provided more La Liga assists than anyone else.
You feel that this game is more important for Malaga. It begins a sequence of fixtures against their top-four rivals, with Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao and Valencia their next up. If they can get some momentum going into that run, they could play themselves into a position to gatecrash the Champions League party.
SHOT! Asenjo is one of the best shot stoppers in La Liga, but Malaga are not afraid of trying their luck from range. Amrabat tees Duda up from a set piece and his piledriver forces Asenjo into a scrambling low save.
After Malaga's bright start, Villarreal are starting to establish some good territory. Cheryshev has whipped in a couple of low crosses which have evaded the visiting strikers. Very little from Vietto so far.
BOOKING: Good play from Amrabat, who is always a handful. Victor Ruiz gets too tight to him and the Moroccan rolls the Villarreal defender and forces him to bring him down near the right byline. A caution follows for Ruiz.
Malaga waste what was a really promising set-piece situation by trying to set Vitor Antunes up for a half-volley on the edge of the box, but the full-back slices it high and wide.
SAVE! Best chance of the game by far, but Kameni keeps the scores level with a fine save! A Trigueros dink over the top finds Uche, and his first touch takes him through one-on-one. He tries to slip the ball under Kameni, but the home goalkeeper blocks with his leg behind for a corner. Uche was in fact offside, so Malaga would have been furious if he did score.
CHANCE! From that corner, Gabriel makes an unchecked run to meet a great delivery toward the six-yard box, but can only direct his header straight at Kameni. A metre either side and there would have been no stopping it.
BOOKING: A busy few minutes for Trigueros, who was never going to avoid a yellow card for cynically bringing down Samu Castillejo as Malaga threatened to break. Castillejo has been bright for the hosts.
Rukavina exchanges passes with Cheryshev to release his winger down the left channel. The Real Madrid loanee's cross is just beyond Vietto, and a return delivery from Dos Santos is hooked clear.
Sly play from Duda, who goes down under minimal contact from Cheryshev and implies that his ankle was stamped on. The Villarreal man has already been booked and that appeared to be a cheeky attempt to con the referee. He gets the free kick, but no more.
GOAL! MALAGA 0-1 VILLARREAL (JONATHAN DOS SANTOS)
Jonathan dos Santos gives Villarreal the lead with literally the last kick of the half, and what a kick it is! Cheryshev gets the benefit of a deflection to beat his man on the left and lift a cross to the back post. Vietto keeps it alive, with the ball looping in the air behind him for Dos Santos to thrash a powerful volley into the net before Kameni could move!
The Yellow Submarines are perhaps a little fortunate to be in front, but Dos Santos produced a real moment of quality there. The angle seemed unlikely, but so sweet was the connection that Kameni would have had to have lightning reactions to keep it out. Perhaps the Mexican only took the effort on because there was mere seconds left in the half and he knew there would not be time to recycle play.
Prior to the goal, it had been a half of few chances. Amrabat, Duda and Antunes all tried their luck from range, but either missed the target or found Asenjo equal to their efforts. Kameni kept out the offside Uche and Gabriel as Villarreal improved towards the break.
STATS: Possession has been pretty even, with Malaga just edging it with 52%. They have had seven shots - nearly twice as many as Villarreal, but only one more on target. Cheryshev is one of three players to have been booked and may be lucky to survive the 90 minutes.
BENCH WATCH: Jonathan's brother Giovani will be desperate for an opportunity to impress after losing his place in the Villarreal team. He's unlikely to get one while the visitors remain ahead. Malaga, who lost Roque Santa Cruz to injury before the winter break, have Ricardo Horta and Juanmi as their attacking options.
KICKOFF: Malaga resume the action looking to respond to that setback on the stroke of the break. Both sides are unchanged...
Dos Santos shows lovely footwork on the right flank before finding Uche with a clever pass inside. The striker spots Cheryshev galloping down the left, but knocks the ball too far in front and it goes out for a throw in.
BOOKING: Samuel is right shown a yellow card for tugging back Uche as Villarreal's counter-attack progressed into the Malaga half.
Amrabat has been caught offside a couple of times already this period. This time he breaks the line, although he his 40 yards from goal. A couple of defenders catch up with him and he ends up dragging a long-range shot wide.
BOOKING: The fifth yellow card of the match goes to Angeleri for his trip on Vietto. Any scouts who have come to watch the Argentine striker will not have jotted much down on their notepads. He's been quiet.
DISALLOWED GOAL! Controversy here as Malaga have a goal chalked off, perhaps more than a minute after the referee had pointed to the middle. Sergi Darder had put the ball into the net after Asenjo spilt a shot from Rosales, but the assistant eventually ruled that Amrabat was offside and interfering with play in the build-up. Malaga are incensed and confused that Villarreal's protests have seen the decision overturned, but justice has been done in the end.
GOAL! MALAGA 1-1 VILLARREAL (NORDIN AMRABAT)
Malaga have the ball in the net and this time it will count! Antunes knocks a hopeful ball forward which Gabriel fails to deal with. Asenjo charges out to try to save his defender, but Amrabat comfortably reaches the ball first and tidily lifts it over the onrushing Villarreal keeper from 20 yards. We are all set for a cracking finish!
We have seen little of Mario Gasper in an attacking sense. The Villarreal full-back loves to bomb forward down the right, but has been subdued in the opening hour. The game is becoming stretched and that should suit him.
SUBSTITUTION: That equalising goal means that we are going to see Giovani dos Santos, who is without a La Liga goal this season. Vietto leaves the field having failed to make a mark on the game.
Disallowed goal number two, but this time there is no debate about it. Dos Santos runs across the box and passes to Bruno, who feigns to shoot before playing a return pass to the former Tottenham Hotspur winger, who was five yards or so offside when he found the net.
Angeleri's short headed back-pass nearly provides Uche with a chance, but in the end only results in a nasty collision between the Villarreal striker and Kameni. The Malaga keeper was the player who needed treatment, but both seem okay to continue.
SUBSTITUTION: Gracia has made two changes, with Juanmi and Horta on for Castillejo and Recio. Another of his players, Torres, becomes the third Malaga man booked for his foul on Uche.
SUBSTITUTION: Changes galore at the moment. Villarreal swap Cheryshev, who has been quiet in the second half having enjoyed a good first 45 minutes, for Moises Gomez.
Torres produces an important block on the edge of the area to thwart Uche's shot on the turn.
SUBSTITUTIONS: A final substitution for either side. Villarreal sacrifice Trigueros for the more industrious Tomas Pina in midfield, while Malaga introduce Liverpool loanee Luis Alberto in place of Duda.
Those substitutions suggest that, with around 10 minutes to go, Malaga are the team more desperate to snatch maximum points. They may feel that, as the home team, the onus is on them to push for a winner.
Having said that, the Yellow Submarines perhaps look the more likely. Several minutes ago, Mario forced Kameni into a diving stop with a 25-yard snapshot. Since then, the Dos Santos brothers have both looked lively.
BOOKING: The referee evens the card count up at four apiece by showing a yellow card for Gabriel. The defender fouled Alberto and then pushed the ball away with his hand to prevent Malaga from breaking.
Neither side are showing any real intent to go and win the game here. I expect that this is going to fizzle out without any late drama. By saying that so confidently, I hope to inspire the opposite.
Moises Gomez has a chance to tun at the Malaga defence as Villarreal catch them three-on-three. Angeleri stretches out an important leg to prevent him from advancing into the box.
There will be THREE minutes of second-half stoppage time at La Rosaleda Stadium...
FULL-TIME: MALAGA 1-1 VILLARREAL
A rather underwhelming end to what had been a fiercely-contested La Liga game as both Malaga and Villarreal seemed content to settle for a 1-1 draw, which keeps the Yellow Submarines in sixth and one point above their opponents.
That's it from me. Be sure to rejoin Sports Mole for live La Liga coverage tomorrow, when Barcelona versus Atletico is the headline attraction in a triple bill. Thanks for joining us this evening.
