John McEnerney: FCB to win La Liga, pushed by Atletico Madrid. The experience of winning titles, quality squad & the 3 up front will b enough 4 another treble.

Max Baggins-Craig: Real may finish 3rd, definitely Atletico 2nd, but then again it's La Liga & anything could happen :) oh the thrills :) 

Bravo's save there, by the way, fully justifying Luis Enrique's decision to restore him for this game. Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Bravo's deputy, was excellent in the 2-1 Copa Del Rey quarter-final first leg win at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, and made an excellent case for staying in today. But Bravo is top class, and showed it there.

Chory Castro is so unlucky not to have brought Malaga level. Barcelona give away a corner after some sloppy play, and when the delivery is half-cleared, Castro's bouncing shot is turned on to the post by Claudio Bravo. So nearly 1-1. Crikey. Heck of a start at La Rosaleda.

Another chance for Malaga. Charles gets in front of Thomas Vermaelen to connect with a left-wing cross, and the ball whizzes just over the bar. Good response from the home side.

Malaga look a little stunned by that early Barcelona goal, to be honest. But at last, they create half-a-chance. Chory Castro knocks in a cross from the left, and Brazilian striker Charles flicks on for Duje Cup to have a sight of goal, but Thomas Vermaelen knocks the ball out for a corner - from which Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets survives a handball shout before the danger passes.

I'd like your thoughts this afternoon on the La Liga title race. Will the goalscoring talents of Messi, Suarez and Neymar see Barcelona to the title? Will Benzema, Bale and Ronaldo win the season for Real? Or will Atletico's superb defence make the difference?

Get in touch via Twitter, using the hashtag #bbceurofooty, text to 81111, or use the BBC Sport Facebook or Google+ pages. I don't just want a team, by the way - I want a reason for your prediction too.

What a start for Barcelona. Just 70 seconds on the clock, and they lead at La Rosaleda. Luis Suarez, the top scorer in La Liga, is the provider, getting to the byeline on the right and crossing low for an unmarked Munir El Haddadi to tap in from about 30 inches. The gameplan has gone out of the window for Malaga coach Javi Gracia. I've just seen it fly past.

Away we go...

The teams are with us. Barcelona are in their yellow and red change strip, Malaga in sky bluer and white stripes. We're ready to go at La Rosaleda.

Here's how we're looking in La Liga today. Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid both play tomorrow, so Barcelona will be the leaders tonight if they win.

Image source, @FCBarcelona

A glorious clear afternoon at La Rosaleda, for an intriguing contest.

Malaga's good recent run, which has pulled them clear of relegation trouble, ended with a 2-1 defeat at Sevilla last weekend. Manager Javi Gracia has had to make changes, with winger Nordin Amrabat sold to Watford during the week, and left-back Arthur Boka suspended. 

Miguel Torres is the replacement at full-back, while Juanpi comes in on the right wing. Marcos Angeleri is in at centre-back for on-loan Derby defender Raul Albentosa.

Malaga's bench is interesting: It includes Mexico's World Cup goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and the former Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz.

Malaga XI: Kameni; Rosales, Angeleri, Weligton, Torres; Juanpi, Camacho, Recio, Castro; Cop, Charles.

Image source, AP

Let's bring you the team news. Lionel Messi is back in the Barcelona line-up, having sat out Wednesday's Copa Del Rey win at Athletic Bilbao with a hamstring problem. Neymar, however, misses out with a similar injury, and so Munir El Haddadi teams up with Messi and Suarez in attack. Thomas Vermaelen replaces the suspended Gerard Pique at centre-back.

Barcelona XI: Bravo; Aleix, Vermaelen, Mascherano, Adriano; Arda, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Munir.

If you're wondering: Barcelona have a game in hand because their scheduled fixture at Sporting Gijon in December was moved so they could play in the Club World Cup in Japan. That game will be played on 17 February.

The La Liga title race is hotting up nicely. The top three all won last weekend, and in style: Real Madrid put five past Sporting Gijon and Barcelona hit Athletic Bilbao for six. But neither of them have yet been able to overhaul Atletico Madrid, who won 3-0 at Las Palmas.

Today, though, Barcelona have their chance to hit first place - for 24 hours at least.

Image source, Getty Images

They have already surprised league leaders Atletico Madrid this season.

Image source, .

And they stopped Real Madrid scoring at the Bernabeu.

Image source, Getty Images

Can Qatar-owned Malaga deliver a blow to Barcelona's title hopes - less than a year after winning in the Nou Camp?