The Blue and Whites, 17th in the standings with 15 points before the start of this matchday, face a León-based side sitting in 20th place with 14 points.
The referee for the match will be Jon Ander González from the Basque Country, with Rubén Ávalos from Catalonia in charge of the VAR.
Players in common Cultural Leonesa-Málaga CF
Solaeta, Emilio, Rafa, Lobato, Álex Gallar, Javi Jiménez, Dioni, Héctor, Buenacasa and Iván Calero
(*) Jaime Moreno, Zelu, José Carlos, Pol Ballesté, and Víctor Ruiz, Atlético Malagueño players who previously played for Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa, along with former Juvenil player Escardó
(**) Puidgollers, Roberto Carlos, and Quique, Málaga CF ‘B’ players who previously played for Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa
Coaches in common Cultural Leonesa-Málaga CF
None
(*) David Cabello, former coach of Málaga CF’s Juvenil ‘A’, managed Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa in the 2020/21 season.
Players in common Cultural Leonesa-CD Málaga
Fernández*, Tavilo*, Ladrón de Guevara*, Rafa, Lareu, Gundemaro, Cesáreo López, Gamonal, Clemades, Seoane and Iglesias
(*) CD Malacitano players
Coaches in common Cultural Leonesa-CD Málaga
None
Match info
• Alfonso Herrero is the only Málaga CF player to have played all 1,170 minutes of the competition. The goalkeeper from Toledo ranks second so far in total saves (45), only behind former Malaguista Rubén Yáñez (49).
• Rafa, with five goals (in 517 minutes of league play and 8 shots on target), is the top scorer for the Blue and Whites. Luis Chacón and Manu Justo, both with three goals, are the leading scorers for the home side.
• David Larrubia is the second-best dribbler in the division, with 36 successful dribbles, only behind Deportivo’s Yeremay, who leads with 39.
• Málaga CF’s record as a league visitor stands at one win and five losses in six matches (3 points), with 3 goals scored and 10 conceded.
• Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa have played six home matches, recording one win, two draws, and three losses (5 points), with 4 goals scored and 7 conceded.
Stats and facts
• An unprecedented clash between Málaga CF and the newly promoted Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa.
• Club Deportivo Málaga and Cultural Leonesa have never faced each other in an official match.
• Cultural Leonesa were crowned champions of the Second Division in the 1954/55 season, which allowed them to play their only historic season in the First Division in 1955/56. In total, including the current one, they have spent 17 seasons in the national second tier. Their previous campaign in Segunda was in 2017/18, when they were relegated after finishing 19th with 48 points.
• Atlético Malagueño Aficionados (similar to the current Málaga ‘C’) faced Cultural once in the Campeonato de España de Aficionados, a competition that ran from 1930 to 1987. In the 1968/69 season quarter-finals, during the first-leg match played at La Puentecilla (León), ‘Cultu’ won 4-0.
• In the nine seasons that Málaga CF have played in the Second Division, on matchday 14 they have recorded six wins and three losses. The most recent instance, in the 2024/25 season, ended with a 1-0 victory at La Rosaleda against FC Cartagena.
