Real Madrid welcome Málaga as Mourinho’s side look to maintain perfect start

Real Madrid will host newly promoted Málaga at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday, 30 August, looking to continue their strong start to the 2026-27 LaLiga season. 

José Mourinho’s side have collected maximum points from their opening two league matches, overcoming Espanyol 2-1 before producing a convincing 4-1 victory against Real Sociedad.

Jude Bellingham opened the scoring against Espanyol, while substitute Carlos Espí struck a late winner after Arda Güler had provided the assist for Madrid’s first goal. 

Against Real Sociedad, Kylian Mbappé took center stage with a hat-trick, while Vinícius Jr also found the net as Madrid underlined their attacking threat.

Málaga, meanwhile, have endured a more difficult return to Spain’s top flight. The promoted side began their campaign with a 2-0 defeat away to Atlético Madrid before drawing 1-1 with fellow newcomers Deportivo La Coruña. 

Juan Funes’ team will therefore face a major challenge against a Madrid side that has started the season in impressive form.

Madrid have also strengthened significantly during the summer transfer window. 

Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konaté and Denzel Dumfries have arrived to reinforce the defense, while Bernardo Silva joined from Manchester City on a free transfer. 

The club’s headline acquisition has been teenage winger Yan Diomande, who arrived for a reported €125 million.

Both teams have injury concerns ahead of the encounter. Madrid are without Éder Militão, Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy, Raúl Asencio, Thiago Pitarch and Endrick, while Málaga will be missing Moussa Diarra, Fernando Calero and Diego Murillo. 

Despite those absences, Madrid enter the fixture as clear favorites, having won four of their last five matches in all competitions.

Historical meetings also heavily favor the hosts. Madrid are unbeaten in their last five recorded LaLiga encounters with Málaga, winning three and drawing two, and have scored 10 goals compared with Málaga’s five. 

With Madrid currently leading the early league standings on six points, Mourinho will hope his side can maintain their perfect record and continue building momentum at the Bernabéu.