The Blue and Whites, with 38 points and in 12th position in the table, face the Red and Whites with 46 points in 7th place, just one point away from the promotion playoff spots for the top flight.
The match will be officiated by Rubén Ávalos Barrera, a 37-year-old referee from Barcelona, who has been officiating in the Second Division for seven seasons (135 matches), including this one. The VAR will be overseen by Madrid-based referee David Gálvez Rascón.
Players in common UD Almería-Málaga CF
Dani**, Sousa*, Cidoncha*, Jon Bakero*, Dorado*, Míchel*, Calleja*, Bravo, Juanito, Manolo Gaspar, Rubén, Portillo, Casado, Charles, Yanis Rahmani, Peybernes, Sekou, Appiah, Nelson Monte and Fran Villalba
(*) As Almería CF
(**) As Almería CF and UD Almería
Coaches in common UD Almería-Málaga CF
Pepe Cayuela*, Javi Gracia and Pepe Mel
(*) As Almería CF
Players in common UD Almería*-CD Málaga
Emilio, Onofre, Castillo and Diego López**
(*) As Almería CF
(**) Also played for Atlético Malagueño -first team-
Coaches in common UD Almería-CD Málaga
None
(*) Esteban Vigo, historic former CD Málaga player (75-77 and 87-91), coached Almería CF in the 95/96 season and UD Almería in the 11/12 season.
Players who debuted with Málaga CF against UD Almería at the Juegos del Mediterráneo
• Dani Pacheco (UD Almería 0-1 Málaga CF, 03/09/2018)
• Boulahroud (UD Almería 0-1 Málaga CF, 03/09/2018)
Match info
• Sergio Pellicer will equal Juan Ramón Muñiz in the number of matches managed at the helm of Málaga CF, with a total of 158. Leading this statistic is the legendary Joaquín Peiró with 224 matches.
• Alfonso Herrero, the only Malaguista to have played every single minute (2,520) of all LALIGA HYPERMOTION matches, is the leader of the league in saves, with a total of 121 (4.32 per match). He is also third in the Zamora Trophy standings, behind Andrés Fernández and the least conceded, Raúl Fernández.
• Dioni, with six goals, is Málaga's top scorer. Luis Javier Suárez, with 20 goals, is the 'pichichi' for the Red and Whites and LALIGA HYPERMOTION.
• Luismi, Nelson Monte, Víctor García, Dani Sánchez, Gabilondo and Pastor are Malaguistas on yellow card suspension watch. Dani Lorenzo and Haitam are unavailable due to injury.
• Málaga CF have accumulated two victories, eight draws, and four defeats (14 points) in 14 away league matches, with 15 goals scored and 18 conceded.
• UD Almería, in 13 home matches, have earned six victories, six draws, and one defeat (24 points), with 22 goals scored and 14 conceded.
Stats and facts
• This will be the sixth time Málaga CF face UD Almería at the stadium now known as UD Almería Stadium in the Second Division. In the previous five encounters, Málaga's record includes one victory (2018/19 season, 0-1 with a Blue and White goal by Harper), two draws, and two defeats.
• In total, Málaga CF have played 15 matches in Almería (three as Atlético Malagueño - the first team) across all Spanish football categories, with two victories, five draws, and eight defeats. Five of these matches were in the First Division, another five in the Second Division, two in Second Division B, one in the Third Division, and two more in the Copa del Rey. The overall goal tally for Málaga is 9 goals scored and 19 conceded.
• The now-defunct CD Málaga and AD Almería faced each other three times in Almería between 1979 and 1982. There were two home victories for Almería, one in the 78/79 season in the Second Division (3-0) and another in the 79/80 season in the elite (3-2), along with a draw in the 81/82 season in Second Division (0-0).
• In the eight seasons that Málaga CF played in Second Division, on matchday 29, the team recorded four victories, one draw, and three defeats.