Málaga – Real Sporting match preview

The Blue and Whites, 6^th with 63 points in a playoff promotion spot, host the Red and Whites sitting in 12^th place with 52 points.

Rafael Sánchez will referee #MálagaRealSporting. He will be assisted in the VAR room by Óliver De la Fuente from Valladolid.

Players in common Málaga CF-Real Sporting

Emilio, Rafa, Cañizares, Ismael, Lekovic, Popovic, Rodrigão, Cristian Díaz, Calandria, Diego Castro, Pina, Molinero, Xavi Torres, Duje Cop, Michael Santos, Jony, Luis Hernández, Scepovic, Dani Martín, Peybernes, Fran Villalba, Yáñez and Dotor

(*) Former Malaguista goalkeeper Dani Barrio came through the Real Sporting youth ranks, just like Gerardo and Peláez, Asturian midfielders who played as reserve team players during the Blue and Whites’ last promotion to the top flight in the 2007/08 season.

(**) Ex Malaguistas Saúl and Gascón played for Real Sporting ‘B’. Iván Hernández and Andreu, former players of Málaga CF ‘B’, also played for Sporting. Omar, a former defender for Atlético Malagueño, trained in the Mareo academy.

Coaches in common Málaga CF-Real Sporting

José Manuel Díaz Novoa and José Alberto López

(*) Former Malaguista coach Juan Ramón Muñiz was a player for Real Sporting between 1990 and 1996.

Players in common CD Málaga-Real Sporting

Camilo Liz*, Bachiller, Gundemaro, García, Comas, Cesáreo López, Vera, Beascoechea, Pellicer and Megido

(*) As CD Malacitano

Coaches in common CD Málaga-Real Sporting

None

Players who debuted with Málaga CF against Real Sporting at La Rosaleda

• Sánchez Broto (Málaga CF 1-1 Real Sporting, 13/09/1998)
• Febas (Málaga CF 2-2 Real Sporting, 09/01/2022)
• Vadillo (Málaga CF 2-2 Real Sporting, 09/01/2022)

Match info

• Alfonso Herrero is the only Málaga CF player to have played all 3,420 minutes of the league season. The Toledo-born keeper ranks second in the competition for total saves (125), only behind Andrés Fernández, goalkeeper of UD Almería, who has made 132 saves so far.

• Chupe is the top Malaguista scorer with 19 goals and the third-highest scorer in LALIGA HYPERMOTION, behind Andrés from Racing de Santander (20 goals) and the league’s top scorer, Sergio Arribas of UD Almería (24 goals). Dubasin, with 15 goals, is the visiting side’s top scorer.

• Larrubia leads the league’s dribbling statistics by a wide margin. The number 10 has successfully completed 98 dribbles, topping the category ahead of Carracedo from Córdoba CF (83) and Yeremay from Deportivo de La Coruña (80).

• ‘Braces’ from Niño and Joaquín. The forward from Rota scored twice last week in Eibar, reaching 11 league goals; the winger from Miraflores, on the other hand, provided two assists in two of the four Malaguista goals at Ipurua and is the team’s top assist provider (6) in the league for Málaga.

• Diego Murillo, David Larrubia, and Joaquín Muñoz, are the Malaguistas one yellow card away from suspension after accumulating four bookings in their current cycle.

• Málaga CF, playing at home, have recorded 11 wins, 6 draws, and 2 defeats in 19 matches (39 points), scoring 39 goals and conceding 22.

• Real Sporting, in 18 away matches, has recorded 5 wins, 1 draw, and 12 defeats (16 points), scoring 19 goals and conceding 28.

Stats and facts

• This will be the 10^th time that Málaga CF and Real Sporting de Gijón meet at La Rosaleda in the Second Division. In the previous nine meetings, Málaga have recorded three wins (3-2 in 2007/08, 1-0 in 2020/21, and 2-1 in 2024/25, the latter featuring Chupe’s first brace for the first team) and six draws.

• Meanwhile, Málaga CF and Real Sporting met six times at Martiricos in the First Division between 2009 and 2016. The Blue and Whites recorded one draw and five wins. The most significant was a 1-0 victory (with a goal from Salomón Rondón) on the final matchday of the 2011/12 season, which secured the club’s best-ever league finish (4^th place) and qualification for the UEFA Champions League qualifying round.

• CD Málaga played 16 official home matches against the team from Gijón. Twelve of those were in the top flights, with 7 wins for the Blue and Whites, 3 draws, and 2 away wins. They also met twice in the Second Division, with one win each; once in the Copa del Generalísimo, where CD Málaga won 3-2 in the 1971/72 season; and once in the now-defunct Copa de la Liga, which ended in a 0-1 win for the Gijón side in 1982/83.

• The last official historical match between CD Málaga and Sporting de Gijón at Martiricos took place in the First Division during the 1989/90 season. It was matchday 23, and the home side won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Antonio Mata in the 86^th minute.

• Across the nine seasons they have played in the second tier, Málaga CF have recorded four wins, one draw, and four defeats on matchday 39.