- 1 Atletico de Madrid vs Malaga: will the promoted side be left wide open?
- 2 Atletico Madrid: an attacking hierarchy that needs rebuilding
- 3 Malaga: only one pre-season win and six absentees for the opener
- 4 La Liga prediction Atletico Madrid vs Malaga
- 5 First, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling comes first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the visuals…
Atletico de Madrid vs Malaga: will the promoted side be left wide open? 
Atletico Madrid finished the 2025-26 season in fourth place in La Liga, 25 points behind champions Barcelona. Eleven league defeats explain most of that gap.
The Madrid club kicks off its 2026-27 campaign on Wednesday 19 August at 21:00 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. Malaga are the visitors as they return to Spain’s top flight.
The Andalusians earned promotion through the Segunda Division playoffs, eight years after their last appearance in La Liga. Their most recent spell in the top division was back in 2017-18.
Diego Simeone has added four new faces this summer at Atletico: Alejandro Grimaldo, Lee Kang-in, Morten Hjulmand and Cristian Romero. Antoine Griezmann’s departure, though, leaves a real hole in attack.
Atletico Madrid: an attacking hierarchy that needs rebuilding 
Four pre-season games, two wins and two defeats: Atletico’s summer has been mixed. Getafe were brushed aside 4-1, while Marseille were beaten 2-1 on their own turf.
Both losses came against Premier League clubs. Manchester United won 2-1 and Manchester City 3-1, two matches in which Atletico’s back line shipped at least two goals.
That softness against higher-level attacks is a long way from Atletico’s usual identity. Against a promoted side that has won only once in five friendlies, it should matter a lot less.
The new arrivals mostly change the wide areas and the middle of the pitch. Grimaldo gives them real quality on the left, Hjulmand adds bite in midfield, and Lee Kang-in should make his official debut on Wednesday.
The treatment room is not exactly overflowing. Cristian Romero has arrived too soon for this one, Alexander Sorloth needs a late fitness test after a scare last week, and Julian Alvarez’s involvement depends on where things stand with his future.
Arnau Ortiz stood out throughout pre-season and could be handed a start at 24. Simeone, then, has a near-full squad against a side missing six players.
The exits of Thiago Almada and Nahuel Molina have also trimmed the squad on the flanks. Simeone has to reshuffle his attacking roles without his former all-time leading scorer.
The movement between the lines is the big unknown for Atletico. With Kang-in supporting and Ortiz up top, they look a touch less direct than in recent seasons.
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Malaga: only one pre-season win and six absentees for the opener 
Malaga played five pre-season matches and won only one, a 4-2 victory over Al Arabi. Three draws and one defeat complete their summer record.
Juan Francisco Funes’s side shared the points with Leicester City (3-3), Al Ittihad (2-2) and Fulham (2-2), before losing 2-1 at Ceuta. Eleven goals conceded in five games gives a decent picture of the promoted side’s defensive level.
Malaga’s summer business was modest, with three arrivals: Juan Cruz, Fernando Calero and Jose Salinas. Six players also left, including Darko Brasanac.
The picture looks even messier with kick-off approaching. Aaron Ochoa is suspended, Carlos Dotor, Fernando Calero, Diego Murillo and Adrian Nino are injured, and Juanpe remains doubtful with a hamstring problem.
Chupe will lead the Andalusian attack after scoring 25 goals in all competitions during 2025-26. Jose Salinas is expected to start at left-back.
Losing six players for a top-flight opener is a real handicap. Throwing a left-back in for his debut against Atletico adds another question mark in a position Grimaldo and Kang-in are likely to target.
Juan Cruz and Jose Salinas are among the few positive notes from Malaga’s summer. Fernando Calero, their third signing, is already unavailable for this first match.
The 2-2 draw Malaga dragged out of Fulham just days before the restart remains the clearest signal from the promoted side. Holding a Premier League club suggests this group is not completely out of its depth, even shorn of numbers.
Probable Atletico Madrid XI: Oblak; Pubill, Le Normand, Hancko; Simeone, Barrios, Koke, Grimaldo; Kang-in; Lookman, Ortiz
Probable Malaga XI: Herrero; Puga, Recio, Galilea, Salinas; Larrubia, Rodriguez, Merino, Lorenzo, Munoz; Chupe
La Liga prediction Atletico Madrid vs Malaga
Our prediction: Atletico Madrid to win to nil
Malaga head into this opener with six players unavailable or doubtful, including four injuries and one suspension. A patched-up defence at the Metropolitano is the major imbalance in this fixture.
The promoted side has won just one of its five pre-season games and conceded 11 goals across that stretch. Their last away win at Atletico came in May 2011, and the last five meetings have all gone the way of the Madrid side.
Atletico keep a clean sheet and take the three points from the off.
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