Football Bet of the Day: Don't expect a party on the Costa del Sol

• Granada without an away goal since August

• Malaga have improved under new coach

Malaga v Granada
Thursday 08 December, 20:00

Huesca did us proud yesterday, as their 1-0 win over Andorra made it three winners out of three on the column this week. We'll continue with another Spanish jaunt, because Malaga are facing Granada in the Segunda tonight, and I think the hosts can spring a surprise.

Granada are seventh in the standings, and as a recent competitor in La Liga, they have clear ambitions to return to the top flight. However, their away form is proving to be their Achilles heel. Aitor Karanka's team has failed to score in eight straight away matches, a remarkably poor run that stretches back to a win at Ibiza in mid-August. Of those eight matches, Granada have lost six and drawn two. It's only their home results (seven wins and two draws from nine games) that are keeping them in the hunt for promotion.

Malaga are in the thick of the relegation battle, but their home form has improved of late, with just one defeat in the last six at La Rosaleda. Overall they have lost just one of their last five competitive games, and that was a 1-0 reverse at promotion-chasing Levante. Former West Brom boss Pepe Mel is trying to revive a club that finished 18th in this division last term.

Given the improvement that Pepe Mel has brought about since joining the club in September, I think Malaga can cause a few problems for Granada here, so I'm going to use the Bet Builder to combine a Malaga/Draw Double Chance bet with an Under 3.5 Goals bet at 1.8910/11 on the Sportsbook. Malaga have scored just 13 goals in 18 league games, and Granada aren't scoring at all on their travels.