Real Madrid host Málaga at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday looking to maintain their perfect start to the 2026-27 La Liga season.
José Mourinho’s team have collected six points from their opening two matches, although the performances have been quite different. Real Madrid needed a late Carlos Espí winner to escape the RCDE Stadium with a 2-1 victory over Espanyol on opening weekend before producing a much more convincing display against Real Sociedad on Wednesday.
That second performance offered a better
glimpse of what Mourinho will want his team to become. Real Madrid won 4-1 at the Bernabéu, with Kylian Mbappé scoring a hat-trick and Vinícius Júnior also finding the net.
The result leaves Madrid among the small group of teams with a perfect record through two rounds. Barcelona have also started with consecutive victories, meaning neither of Spain’s two biggest clubs will want to surrender any ground this early in what could develop into a tight title race.
Sunday represents another opportunity for Real Madrid to build momentum before the schedule temporarily becomes less congested.
A familiar opponent returns to the Bernabéu
Málaga are back in La Liga for the first time since their relegation in 2018, completing a long journey back to the top flight after falling as far as Spain’s third tier.
It is a remarkable turnaround for a club that reached the Champions League quarter-finals in 2013 before enduring years of financial and sporting instability.
Juan Funes’ side earned promotion through the Segunda División playoffs but have predictably found the adjustment to La Liga difficult.
Málaga opened their campaign with a 2-0 defeat against Atlético Madrid before earning their first point of the season in Monday’s 1-1 draw with fellow promoted side Deportivo La Coruña. Chupete scored from the penalty spot in that game.
They now face a considerably more difficult assignment in Madrid.
History is overwhelmingly on Real Madrid’s side. The clubs have met 80 times in all competitions, with Madrid winning 52 and Málaga winning only 10. In 41 visits to Real Madrid, Málaga have never won, losing 33 times and drawing eight.
Real Madrid have also won nine of the last 11 meetings between the teams. Their most recent encounter came in April 2018, when Madrid won 2-1 at La Rosaleda.
Mourinho’s selection decisions
Real Madrid continue to deal with a substantial injury list.
Aurélien Tchouaméni, Raúl Asencio, Ferland Mendy, Éder Militão, Rodrygo, Endrick, and Thiago Pitarch all worked away from the main group during Saturday’s final training session. Militão and Endrick were able to continue their recovery work on the pitch, while the remaining injured players worked individually.
The absences have limited some of Mourinho’s options, particularly in midfield. The Real Madrid coach has indicated that Tchouaméni is ultimately expected to occupy the defensive midfield role, but his absence has meant Bernardo Silva and Fede Valverde have operated together deeper in midfield.
Mourinho named the same starting XI against both Espanyol and Real Sociedad. The question now is whether he sees Málaga’s visit as the right moment to begin rotating.
There is significant competition for places.
Marc Cucurella is pushing Álvaro Carreras at left-back, while Mourinho has so far preferred Denzel Dumfries to Trent Alexander-Arnold on the opposite side.
There are even more options further forward. Arda Güler has started the season well and has been part of Mourinho’s starting lineup in each of the opening two matches, while summer signing Yan Diomande is waiting for an opportunity to establish himself following his blockbuster move to Madrid.
With another match coming just four days after the victory over Real Sociedad, it would not be surprising to see Mourinho make his first significant changes of the league campaign.
Mbappé already firing
If Málaga needed another reason to be wary, Kylian Mbappé enters Sunday’s game in excellent form.
The Frenchman’s hat-trick against Real Sociedad took him to three league goals this season and provided another reminder of how devastating he can be when Madrid create space for him around the penalty area.
Mbappé remains the focal point of Mourinho’s attack, with Vinícius stretching defenses alongside him and Bellingham and Güler providing additional creativity between the lines.
Real Madrid have scored at least twice in each of their opening two league matches. Málaga, meanwhile, have yet to keep a clean sheet since returning to the top flight.
For Funes, containing Madrid’s transitions and surviving periods of sustained pressure will likely be central to any hope of taking something from the Bernabéu.
Goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero has already been required to make four saves in each of Málaga’s first two matches, and he could face an even heavier workload on Sunday.
Málaga also arrive with their own injury problems, with Adrián Niño, Diego Murillo, Fernando Calero, Moussa Diarra, and Aaron Ochoa unavailable.
On paper, everything points toward Real Madrid. Málaga are still searching for their first victory since returning to La Liga, while Mourinho’s side have the opportunity to take nine points from nine and carry a perfect record into the next stage of the season.
The challenge for Madrid will be to avoid complacency and build on Wednesday’s performance rather than simply relying on the considerable talent gap between the two squads.
Possible starting lineups
Real Madrid: Courtois; Dumfries, Konaté, Huijsen, Cucurella; Valverde, Bernardo Silva; Bellingham; Diomande, Vinícius, Mbappé.
Málaga: Herrero; Puga, Recio, Galilea, Garrido; Merino, Dotor, Lorenzo; Cruz, Muñoz; Chupete.
Match information
Date: Sunday, August 30, 2026
Kickoff: 5:00 p.m. local time (11:00 a.m. ET)
Venue: Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
Competition: La Liga, Matchday 3
US TV/streaming: ESPN+
Spain: Movistar LaLiga
UK: Premier Sports
