Real Madrid v Málaga: LaLiga matchday three preview, team news and prediction

On 2026-08-30, Real Madrid will host Málaga at the Santiago Bernabéu in LaLiga's Matchday three fixture. The preview comes after Real Madrid's 4-1 win over Real Sociedad and ahead of Málaga's trip to the capital.

Real Madrid have won both of their opening two matches under Jose Mourinho and have begun the 2026-27 season with consecutive victories. Málaga are winless after two league games, losing 2-0 to Atlético Madrid on the opening matchday and drawing 1-1 at home with Real Club Deportivo de A Coruña in their second game. The article states Málaga face a difficult task against an in-form Real Madrid at the Bernabéu.

Kylian Mbappe is described in the piece as Real Madrid’s top goalscorer since he arrived at the club in 2024 and he scored a hat-trick against Real Sociedad in the last game. The Spaniard Carlos Dotor, the article notes, has impressed in the opening two games of the season and is said to play with maturity despite being 25. The report adds that Dotor is versatile, capable of playing as a support striker and across midfield.

The preview lists several absentees for the home side, naming Raúl Asencio, Endrick, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Thiago Pitarch, Éder Militão, Rodrygo and Ferland Mendy as unavailable. By contrast, Málaga are reported to have their entire squad available for selection against Real Madrid. The article does not provide further fitness details beyond those availability notes.

The piece sets out the expected selections as follows: Courtois(GK); Cucurella, Huijsen, Konate, Dumfries; Valverde, Silva; Vinícius Jr, Bellingham, Güler; Mbappe. It then lists: Herrero(GK); Puga, Recio, Galilea, Garrido; Larrubia, Merino, Lorenzo, Muñoz; Dotor, Chupete. These are presented by the preview as the likely lineups.

Prediction in the article favours a home win, projecting Real Madrid 3-1 Málaga. The game will be streamed live on FanCode in India. The last meeting between these two teams, the preview notes, ended in a 2-1 win for Real Madrid, and the upcoming fixture is scheduled to be played at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, Spain.

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