- Málaga form: Málaga have 0 wins, 3 draws and 2 defeats in their last 5 games in all competitions.
- Alavés form: Alavés have 1 win, 1 draw and 3 defeats in their last 5 matches in all competitions.
- Málaga away form: Málaga have 0 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats in their 4 away matches in LaLiga 2026/2027, scoring 0.25 and conceding 2.00 per game.
Alaves to edge tight matchup
The home team are the favorites for Friday's LaLiga 2026-2027 clash against Malaga CF at 1.87, with Málaga at 4.1 and the draw at 3.45 in this highly competitive matchup.
Deportivo Alaves are 7th in the league table with 11 points from their 8 games so far, while Malaga CF are 20th with just 4 points from 8.
Alaves' overall form has been mixed, with 1 win, 1 draw and 3 defeats in their last 5 outings in all competitions. Their two most recent games saw them draw 0-0 away to Athletic Bilbao and lose 1-2 at home to Atlético Madrid, so they still have some work to do to find their best form.
But Malaga have been in dire form, with 0 wins, 3 draws and 2 defeats in their last 5 outings in all competitions. Their recent away record in LaLiga has been particularly poor, with 0 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats from 4 trips.
Both sides look to have found their rhythm in the early stages of the season, so it's hard to pick out an edge between the two. Alaves have won 3 of their 5 home games and are scoring 2.00 goals per match at home, while Málaga have conceded 2.00 goals per trip away.
This will be a battle between width and transition, so Alaves should do well against the side who likes to play more compactly. Alaves are compact and deep, set up in a 5-3-2 by Quique Sánchez Flores, and have been successful on the counter-attack. They look to have the number of Málaga, who have failed to win their last away game at Alavés, on this ground.
Málaga have been set up by Juan Funes, who favours playing with his fullbacks, flank overloads and high pressing to stretch their opponents and create space for their wingers and attackers.
Key players
We're going to lean towards Alaves edging a close game, so we'll back the home side at 1.87. 1.7 looks a fair price for the under 2.5 goals bet as well, and both teams not to score is another option at 1.83, but we prefer the win for Alaves.
Malaga have been poor travellers so far and Alaves are the side who have their number on this patch, having won the last clash between these two sides 2-1 at home in LaLiga 2 2022/2023.
- Lucas Boyé is their biggest star, top of Alaves' scoring charts in the LaLiga 2026/2027 with 4 goals in 6 matches, with 4 of the babazorros' last 7 goals coming from him.
- Adrián Niño is Malaga's bright spark, on 1 goal in 3 appearances in the 2026/2027 campaign, with 2 of the Malaguistas' last 3 goals scored by him.
