Atletico Madrid vs Malaga Preview

Atletico Madrid host Malaga at Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Wednesday, 19th August 2026, as both sides open their La Liga campaigns against each other.

Atletico’s pre-season form has been underwhelming. Their most recent outing ended in a 3-1 defeat away at Manchester City. Prior to that, they were beaten 2-1 away at Manchester Utd. Before that, they beat Getafe 4-1 at home. Earlier in this run, Atletico were thrashed 5-1 at home by Villarreal, and their sequence began with a 1-0 home win over Girona. Across these five matches, Atletico have won two and lost three, with back-to-back defeats their most recent results heading into the new season.

Malaga’s preparations have shown more consistency, if not always victories. Their most recent outing was a 2-2 draw away at Fulham. Prior to that, they were beaten 2-1 away at Ceuta. Before that, they beat Al Arabi 4-2 at home. Earlier in this run, Malaga drew 2-2 at home with Al Ittihad, and their sequence began with a 3-3 home draw against Leicester. Overall, Malaga have won just once, drawn three and lost once across their last five, arriving with a mixed bag only beaten in one heading into matchday one.

The head-to-head record favours Atletico Madrid, who have won all five of the last five meetings, with no draws and no wins for Malaga. Most recently, Atletico won 1-0 away from home. In the previous encounter, Atletico won 1-0 at home. Atletico’s dominance in this fixture historically gives them a clear psychological edge heading into the opening weekend, despite their shakier recent form.

With the season yet to begin, both clubs currently sit level on zero points, zero goal difference and zero matches played, meaning this opener is a fresh start for both sides regardless of their contrasting pre-season campaigns. Atletico’s defensive form has been a concern throughout the summer, conceding heavily against Villarreal and Manchester City, while Malaga have shown they can compete with stronger opposition, drawing with Leicester and Fulham and only narrowly losing to Ceuta.

Atletico’s attacking options, including a front line built around Lookman and Kang-In Lee, give them plenty of firepower to trouble a Malaga defence that has looked at times fragile against direct opposition. Malaga, for their part, will look to their own attacking trio to cause problems on the counter, with their draws against Premier League opposition suggesting they won’t be overawed by the step up in quality at the Metropolitano.

In Spain, the match is available to stream via Movistar+, LaLiga TV Bar HD, M+ LALIGA TV and Movistar Plus+. In Great Britain and Ireland, viewers can catch the game on Premier Sports 1 and Premier Sports Player. In the United States, the match is available on ESPN Deportes, ESPN Select and fuboTV.

Possible Lineups

Atletico Madrid (4-2-3-1) Oblak, Llorente, Pubill, Hancko, Grimaldo, Giuliano, Barrios, Hjulmand, Baena, Kang-In Lee, Lookman

Malaga (4-3-3) Herrero, Rafita, Galilea, Pastor, Puga, Merino, Lorenzo, Ramón, Muñoz, Chupe, Larrubia

Atletico Madrid Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
❌	Manchester City	3-1	Atl. Madrid	CF	09.08.26
❌	Manchester Utd	2-1	Atl. Madrid	CF	01.08.26
✅	Atl. Madrid	4-1	Getafe	CF	29.07.26
❌	Villarreal	5-1	Atl. Madrid	LL	24.05.26
✅	Atl. Madrid	1-0	Girona	LL	17.05.26

Malaga Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
🤝	Malaga	2-2	Fulham	CF	12.08.26
❌	Ceuta	2-1	Malaga	CF	07.08.26
✅	Malaga	4-2	Al Arabi	CF	06.08.26
🤝	Malaga	2-2	Al Ittihad	CF	30.07.26
🤝	Malaga	3-3	Leicester	CF	25.07.26

Head-to-Head

Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
Malaga	0-1	Atl. Madrid	LL	10.02.18
Atl. Madrid	1-0	Malaga	LL	16.09.17
Malaga	0-2	Atl. Madrid	LL	01.04.17
Atl. Madrid	4-2	Malaga	LL	29.10.16
Atl. Madrid	1-0	Malaga	LL	23.04.16

TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
Spain	Movistar+, LaLiga TV Bar HD, M+ LALIGA TV, Movistar Plus+
Great Britain	Premier Sports 1, Premier Sports Player
Ireland Republic	Premier Sports 1, Premier Sports Player
USA	ESPN Deportes, ESPN Select, fuboTV, ESPN App
Germany	DAZN Germany, DAZN1 Germany
Italy	DAZN Italia
France	DAZN France, Disney+ Premium
Portugal	DAZN Portugal
Canada	TSN+
Japan	DAZN Japan, U-NEXT

POS.	TEAM	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	P
1	Real Sociedad	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Elche	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Deportivo Alavés	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Celta de Vigo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Málaga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Rayo Vallecano	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Real Madrid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Villarreal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Barcelona	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	Atlético Madrid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	Sevilla	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Racing Santander	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	Deportivo La Coruña	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	Valencia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	Athletic Club	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	Espanyol	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	Real Betis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	Getafe	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	Osasuna	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	Levante	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0