La Liga,
Round 3
Real Madrid
REA
Malaga
MAL
Real Madrid v Malaga La Liga preview
Real Madrid will look to maintain their perfect start to the 2026-27 LaLiga season when they welcome newly-promoted Malaga to the Bernabeu on Sunday afternoon.
Jose Mourinho’s side have won their opening two matches, while Malaga are still searching for their first victory since returning to the Spanish top flight.
Real Madrid have made a strong start to Mourinho’s second spell in charge, taking maximum points from their opening two league matches.
Los Blancos needed a late winner from summer signing Carlos Espi to secure a 2-1 victory away to Espanyol on the opening weekend, with Jude Bellingham also finding the net after being set up by Arda Guler.
Madrid then produced a more convincing display against Real Sociedad, winning 4-1 as Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick and Vinicius Junior also got on the scoresheet.
The hosts will be expected to make it three wins from three against a Malaga side still adjusting to life back in the top flight.
Malaga were promoted after finishing second in the Segunda Division last season and have taken just one point from their opening two matches.
Juan Funes’ side began with a 2-0 defeat away to Atletico Madrid before drawing 1-1 at home against fellow promoted side Deportivo La Coruna.
Real Madrid v Malaga team news
Real Madrid are dealing with several injury concerns ahead of Sunday’s match.
Eder Militao, Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy, Raul Asencio, Thiago Pitarch and Endrick are all sidelined, leaving Mourinho with reduced options in both defence and attack.
There are currently no suspension concerns for the home side.
Malaga also have several players unavailable, with Moussa Diarra, Fernando Calero and Diego Murillo all ruled out.
There are no reported suspensions for Funes’ side.
Real Madrid v Malaga expected line ups
Real Madrid possible starting line-up: Courtois; Dumfries, Konate, Huijsen, Carreras; Silva, Valverde; Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius Junior; Mbappe
Malaga possible starting line-up: Herrero; Puga, Recio, Galilea, Rafita; Lorenzo, Merino; Juan Cruz, Dotor, Munoz; Chupe
ℹ️ Official lineups are not available yet. They are usually announced 20–40 minutes before kickoff, depending on the competition.
Real Madrid v Malaga stats, recent La Liga form
- None of the last 11 editions of the fixture have produced a Malaga victory, Madrid winning the most recent meeting between the teams 2-1 on the road in La Liga in April 2018 through goals by Isco and Casemiro
- That was Madrid’s fourth successive win against Malaga, although the sides shared draws during the 2015/16 season following a run of five straight Blancos victories between May 2013 and April 2015
- Madrid’s home record against Malaga is W15 D3, although none of their last three visits from Los Boquerones have been decided by more than a goal, most recently triumphing 3-2 in La Liga in November 2017 courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo’s second-half winner
- Ronaldo is the all-time top scorer in the fixture with 17 goals, followed by the player immediately behind Madrid’s all-time leading marksman in terms of the most goals for the club, with Karim Benzema scoring 10 against Malaga
- Jose Mourinho was in his first spell as Madrid boss at the time, accumulating a record of W6 D1 L1 against Malaga
- Mourinho won his first five matches against Malaga and oversaw an aggregate scoreline of 15-1 across the first three of those games, but Madrid took one point from two Liga matches against them in 2012
- The Portuguese’s most recent game against Malaga was his penultimate home game of that first period at Madrid, winning 6-2 in May 2013 through goals from Raul Albiol, Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Angel Di Maria
- Malaga’s most recent and only win in their 36 encounters with Madrid was in December 2012, prevailing 3-2 at home through Isco’s opener and two goals from Roque Santa Cruz
- They have not won away in La Liga since a 2-0 victory at Real Sociedad in December 2017, finishing with the worst away record in the division that season (W1 D2 L16)
- In last season’s second tier, only promoted Deportivo La Coruna (+12) had a better away goal difference than Malaga (+5), who scored the third-most goals on the road in the division (33) behind Deportivo (34) and champions Racing Santander (35)
Where to watch Madrid v Malaga: TV channel, live online streams
Kick-off on Sunday is at 16:00 BST (11:00 ET / 08:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Premier Sports 1 and streaming available on a vast range of devices via the Premier Sports app.
A Premier Sports subscription costs £120 a year, £11.99 per month on a 12-month contract or £16.99 per month with 30 days’ cancellation notice required.
Real Madrid v Malaga prediction
Match Prediction
Real Madrid
Malaga
Real Madrid have made an excellent start under Mourinho and should have too much quality for Malaga at home.
The visitors are likely to make life difficult at times, but Madrid’s attacking options should eventually prove too much for the newly-promoted side.
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