🏏 Sun, 6 Sep 2026 18:30 CEST
Malaga
vs
Levante UD
4-3-3 vs 4-3-3
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- Málaga sit 19th on a single point and host a Levante side who are 10th with four. The hosts have already faced the two Madrid giants away, losing 2-0 at Atlético and 4-0 at Real Madrid, with their only point coming in a 1-1 home draw with Deportivo La Coruña. With Elche (18th) and Valencia (20th) also on one point, a first home win is urgently needed.
- The contrast in front of goal is stark. Málaga have scored once and conceded seven in three matches. Levante's tally of five all arrived in one afternoon — a 5-2 home win over Real Betis — after they were blanked in a 3-0 defeat at Espanyol and a goalless draw at Osasuna. Whichever side controls that volatility should shape the evening.
- Both teams line up in 4-3-3, so the midfield trios will decide the rhythm. Málaga rely on Carlos Dotor, 25, a Real Madrid academy graduate who came via Sporting Gijón and is on loan from Celta Vigo. Levante counter with La Masia product Oriol Rey, 28, a left-footed builder who can also fill in at centre-back, and Real Sociedad-schooled playmaker Jon Ander Olasagasti, 26.
- Carlos Ruiz is Málaga's headline act. The 22-year-old, 185cm striker won the Segunda golden boot with 25 goals and chose to stay for the top-flight campaign after driving the promotion. He faces a seasoned pairing: Algeria international Aïssa Mandi, 34, who spent five seasons at Real Betis after coming through Reims, and Dela, 27, a Real Madrid academy product praised for his duels.
- Creativity runs through Málaga's number 10, David Larrubia. The 24-year-old, 172cm dribbler scored the goal that sealed promotion and is a precise set-piece taker. Alongside him is Juan Cruz, back at the club after 11 years away, the 26-year-old bringing top-flight mileage from Real Betis and Leganés to the front line.
- Levante's front three is small and mobile: Brugui (173cm), Iván Romero (172cm) and Tiago Cruz (175cm). Brugui, a left-footed Catalan, attacks from wide, while Sevilla-raised Romero specialises in runs in behind. Málaga's central defence of Einar Galilea and Ángel Recio, both 185cm, is built for aerial duels, so the test is whether they can cope with pace on the deck.
- The goalkeeping duel is worth watching. Málaga captain Alfonso Herrero, 32, has played 129 of a possible 130 league games across three seasons at the club and kept 13 clean sheets last term as they returned to the top flight after eight years. Levante's Mat Ryan, 34, is an Australia international whose career includes Brighton, Arsenal and Real Sociedad, and who is comfortable sweeping behind the line.
- The full-back selections tell their own story. Levante start academy graduate Nacho Pérez, born in 2008 and a first-team debutant at 17, on the right, with Manu Sánchez, 26, an Atlético Madrid product with several loan seasons at Osasuna, on the left. Málaga field both José Salinas, 25, on loan from Espanyol, and homegrown Rafita, a converted winger, in the same back four.
- There is useful depth on both benches. Málaga can turn to Izan Merino, 20, who played 37 games last season and covers anchor, interior and even centre-back, plus Atlético-schooled winger Joaquín Muñoz, 27. Levante hold Jeremy Toljan, the 32-year-old German with Borussia Dortmund and Celtic on his CV, and Hugo Sotelo, 22, the Celta academy midfielder who debuted at 17 against Barcelona.