Atletico Madrid vs Malaga Predictions

• Atletico Madrid kept 14 clean sheets in La Liga last season
• Malaga won promotion via the play-offs
• Atleti won 15 of their 19 home league games last term

Atleti can open with a win and a shut-out

Malaga secured a return to Spain’s top tier after an eight-year absence by winning the play-offs last season and they face a La Liga baptism of fire as they open the new campaign at Atletico Madrid.

Los Colchoneros underwhelmed last season as they finished 25 points adrift of champions Barcelona but their struggles largely came on the road.

Atleti won 15 of their 19 home games (D1, L3) and should be able to win fairly comfortably against a side who were playing in the second tier last season. Malaga enjoyed a strong finish in La Liga 2 but haven’t been able to strengthen their squad significantly over the summer, and look likely to struggle if they are unable to add to their options before the transfer window closes.

The best bet here could be backing Atleti to win without conceding as they shipped just 17 goals in 19 home league games last season. The Madrid giants kept an impressive 14 clean sheets in total in La Liga, and they should have enough quality at the back to keep Los Albicelestes quiet.

Atleti will probably be without Julian Alvarez as he hasn’t featured since the World Cup and continues to be linked with a summer exit. Diego Simeone’s men aren’t necessarily prolific scorers and without their star forward they may not put Malaga to the sword but they can record a routine 2-0 win to open the new campaign.

Ademola Lookman ended last season with two goals in three games for Atleti and he’s scored a couple of goals during pre-season. In Alvarez’s likely absence, Lookman looks a good contender for an anytime effort.