Malaga visit the Metropolitano Stadium to face Atletico Madrid on Wednesday evening as La Liga’s opening round of matches continues.
The staggered start to La Liga continues this week, with teams whose players were involved in the latter stages of the World Cup able to delay the start of their domestic season.
Atletico have not been able to take full advantage of this option, however, with the Metropolitano booked for three nights by artist The Weeknd.
That means Diego Simeone's side have had to bring their opening fixture forward, rather than delay their start by the full week enjoyed by rivals such as Barcelona and Real Madrid, adding to the chaotic nature of the new season in Spain.
However, the fixture list has been kind to Atletico in handing them an opening match against recently promoted Malaga, who head into the new campaign as favourites to be relegated.
Despite having pre-season impacted by the number of players involved at the World Cup, leading to some poor results, Atletico have had their full squad in training for two weeks prior to this opening match and they should have too much quality for their guests.
Atletico Madrid v Malaga Tips Summary
Best Bet - Atletico Madrid to win to nil @ 10/11
Alternative Bet - Under 2.5 goals @ 11/10
Bet Builder - Ademola Lookman 2+ shots on target, Atletico Madrid over 5.5 corners & Carlos Chupete 2+ fouls committed @ 11/2
Atletico Madrid v Malaga Prediction
Best Bet: Atletico Madrid to win to nil @ 10/11
Atletico look well placed to make a winning start against Malaga, with Simeone’s side boasting a strong home record from last season.
Atleti won 15 of their 19 La Liga matches at the Metropolitano in 2025/26 and have won each of their last five meetings with Malaga.
The visitors are returning to the top flight for the first time since 2018 and face a major step up in quality. Despite promotion, Malaga conceded 52 goals in La Liga 2 last season.
With the hosts expected to dominate the game, Atletico can secure three points without conceding.
Alternative Bet: Under 2.5 goals @ 11/10
Under 2.5 goals appeals in this fixture given Atletico’s defensive nature and the head-to-head record between these sides.
Atleti have won six of their last seven home meetings with Malaga, with four of those victories coming by a single goal.
It is also worth noting that four of the last six clashes between these two clubs have ended 1-0, with just one of those contests going over the 2.5-goals mark.
Atletico Madrid v Malaga Bet Builder Tip
Ademola Lookman 2+ shots on target
Atletico Madrid over 5.5 corners
Carlos Chupete 2+ fouls committed
Pays 11/2
Ademola Lookman joined Atletico in February of this year and went on to score four goals in 12 La Liga matches for his new side.
He featured prominently from the left last season, but with Alexander Sorloth expected to miss out on this match with injury and transfer speculation surrounding Julian Alvarez, the Nigerian could find himself with a central role in this clash.
Two or more shots on target look well within Lookman’s reach in a game Atletico are expected to dominate.
Atletico’s dominance could also work in their favour when it comes to the corner count.
In their final five games of last season, four of them saw Simeone’s side win six or more corners and across the season they beat this line in 63% of their matches.
Carlos Chupete conceded 1.3 fouls per match last season but given the aggressive nature of the Atletico defenders, the Malaga striker is likely to get into a physical battle and two or more fouls looks a strong option to round out this bet builder.
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Key Match Stats
Atletico have won the past five meetings against Malaga
Atleti finished fourth in La Liga last season with 69 points, winning 15 of their 19 home league matches
Atletico have won six of their last seven home matches against Malaga
Malaga have won just one of their last 14 matches against Atletico
Malaga are playing their first La Liga match since 2018
Malaga finished fourth in La Liga 2 last season, securing promotion via the play-offs
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
