La Liga Gameweek 9 Sun, Oct 18 · 17:30 Estadio La Rosaleda, Málaga
Full match report oneScoredOdds · Value · Detailed stats →
Our take

It was too close to call.

Real Sociedad were the stronger side on L90 Strength (55 vs 44). Recent goals, xG and shots on target narrow the gap for Malaga. Malaga were without Diego Murillo. Real Sociedad were without J. Aramburu. Malaga had 8.9 days of rest, Real Sociedad 3 and had to travel 762 km. Conditions were neutral.

Away travel762 kmRest days8.9 · 3Matches / 14d1 · 2
Malaga39%
Draw26%
Real Sociedad34%
Expected goals 1.49 – 1.38
Malaga37%
Draw27%
Real Sociedad35%
Expected goals 1.36 – 1.32
Malaga39%
Draw27%
Real Sociedad34%
Expected goals 1.45 – 1.34
Malaga32%
Draw26%
Real Sociedad42%
Expected goals 1.33 – 1.54
Malaga40%
Draw25%
Real Sociedad35%
Expected goals 1.57 – 1.46
Over 2.5 55% Both score 58% Likeliest score 1–1
Pre-match forecast. Real context is the full LOAD90 forecast; Strength only is Elo and home edge alone. How it works.
Weather (Málaga)
22°CPartly cloudy
  • Precipitation 0.2 mm
  • Wind 7 km/h
  • Humidity 75%
RefereeLuis Bestard Servera
  • Cards per match 5.4
  • Penalties per match 0.19
  • Matches 26

Team strength

MalagaReal Sociedad
44 L90 StrengthIn forecast 55
41 Current StrengthIn forecast 58
28 AttackIn forecast 62
31 DefenceIn forecast 48
20 Form indexContext 61
In forecastContext

L90 Strength, Attack and Defence come from the same Elo rating and attack and defence ratings the forecast uses. Form index is explained in Recent performance.

Match Opportunity

Full analysis

Malaga

Attack+15%
Defense risk−6%

Real Sociedad

Attack+17%
Defense risk−18%

Both teams face a more favorable matchup than their league-average baseline.

Playing style

MalagaReal Sociedad
0.50 Goals scoredVia Att/Def 1.50
1.63 Goals concededVia Att/Def 1.88
0.81 xGVia Att/Def 1.23
1.59 xG allowedVia Att/Def 1.70
-0.31 Goals minus xGContext +0.27
50% Scored inContext 63%
13% Clean sheetsContext 13%
10.63 ShotsContext 13.25
2.63 Shots on targetVia Att/Def 5.00
25% On target shareContext 38%
6.00 Shots in the boxContext 7.75
60% Box shareContext 56%
5% ConversionContext 11%
1.57 OffsidesContext 2.17
14.13 Shots allowedContext 16.50
5.50 On target allowedVia Att/Def 6.25
3.75 BlocksContext 4.00
3.75 Goalkeeper savesContext 4.63
68% Save rateContext 74%
52% PossessionIn forecast 48%
481 PassesContext 453
418 Accurate passesContext 384
87% Pass accuracyContext 85%
6.73 Team ratingContext 6.86
12.50 FoulsContext 12.50
12.00 Fouls sufferedContext 10.50
2.75 Yellow cardsContext 2.00
0.00 Red cardsContext 0.25
This league season, per match · 8 and 8 games
0.60 Goals scoredVia Att/Def 1.40
1.40 Goals concededVia Att/Def 1.80
0.81 xGVia Att/Def 1.16
1.59 xG allowedVia Att/Def 1.74
-0.21 Goals minus xGContext +0.24
50% Scored inContext 70%
20% Clean sheetsContext 10%
10.80 ShotsContext 12.60
2.90 Shots on targetVia Att/Def 4.60
27% On target shareContext 37%
6.40 Shots in the boxContext 7.10
62% Box shareContext 55%
6% ConversionContext 11%
1.75 OffsidesContext 1.88
13.50 Shots allowedContext 15.90
5.20 On target allowedVia Att/Def 5.80
3.20 BlocksContext 3.90
3.70 Goalkeeper savesContext 4.20
71% Save rateContext 72%
52% PossessionIn forecast 49%
478 PassesContext 474
411 Accurate passesContext 401
86% Pass accuracyContext 85%
6.78 Team ratingContext 6.79
11.70 FoulsContext 12.70
11.70 Fouls sufferedContext 11.20
2.70 Yellow cardsContext 2.00
0.00 Red cardsContext 0.20
Last 10 matches, all competitions, per match · 10 and 10 games
In forecastVia Att/DefContext

In forecast: possession adjusts the LOAD90 forecast directly. Via Att/Def: goals, xG and shots on target feed the attack and defence ratings. Context: describes the style, no correction of its own.

Recent performance last 5 · schedule

Malaga
Rest8.9 dayssince last match
Matches / 14d1all competitions
Travel0 km0 km in 14d
Schedule load0%Low
Form 20 · 3 pts vs 6.9 for an average club · -3.7 vs expected
  • D9 OctH · Espanyol1–11.6 xPts
  • L20 SepA · Getafe0–11.2 xPts
  • L17 SepH · Villarreal1–31.3 xPts
  • D13 SepA · Celta Vigo1–11.2 xPts
  • D6 SepH · Levante0–01.4 xPts
Real Sociedad
Rest3 dayssince last match
Matches / 14d2all competitions
Travel762 km1,958 km in 14d
Schedule load19%Low
Form 61 · 7 pts vs 5.7 for an average club · +1.0 vs expected
  • D15 OctA · Union St. Gilloise1–10.9 xPts
  • W11 OctH · Deportivo La Coruna3–21.7 xPts
  • W20 SepA · Valencia3–21.2 xPts
  • L17 SepH · Bournemouth1–21.0 xPts
  • L13 SepH · Atletico Madrid0–31.3 xPts

Expected points come from each pre-match EloLambda forecast (3 × win chance + draw chance). Explains recent results; in our tests recent form did not add predictive value on top of the model. Rest, travel and schedule load are context; only High Congestion (4+ matches in 14 days) changes the forecast. Full schedule below.

Full schedule & recovery
Malaga Real Sociedad
Schedule loaddescriptive index, contextLow · 0Low · 19
High congestion4+ matches in 14 days, in the forecastNoNo
Rest dayssince last match8.9La Liga 2026-2027, 9 Oct3UEFA Europa League 2026-2027 - League phase, 15 Oct
Travel to venuefrom home stadium0 km762 km
Travel, last 14 daysaway trips, both ways0 km1,958 km
Matcheslast 7 / 14 / 28 days0 / 1 / 11 / 2 / 3
Next matchdays after this one5.14.1

All competitions synced from eScored, including cups and Europe. Distances are straight-line between stadium cities. Only High Congestion changes the forecast; the other rows are context.

Squad & lineups

Malaga Confirmed XI
4-4-2
1Alfonso Herrero(G)
12José Salinas 15Ángel Recio 20F. Calero Villa 31Rafita
18Pablo Martínez 8Carlos Dotor 23Izan Merino 10David Larrubia
9Chupe 21Adrián Niño
+6 more reported missing outside this XI
Real Sociedad Confirmed XI
4-4-2
1Álex Remiro(G)
3Aihen Muñoz 19M. Sarr 6Jon Martín 22Héctor Fort
7Barrenetxea 18Carlos Soler 4Jon Gorrotxategi 14T. Kubo
9O. Óskarsson 10Mikel Oyarzabal
+4 more reported missing outside this XI

Last XI is the club's most recent recorded starting lineup, Confirmed XI is the official lineup for this match. We do not publish a predicted lineup. Players in red are reported missing for this match.

Key absences
Malaga Scores -0.01 · concedes +0.04 goals
Attack line −5.8% · Defence line −15.1% of weighted minutes
  • DEF Diego Murillo Core 7.30
  • MID Juan Cruz Rotation 6.43
  • MID A. Ochoa Rotation 6.66
  • ATT Julen Lobete Rotation 6.68
2 without recent minutes (no impact): J. Cajuste, M. Diarra
Real Sociedad Scores 0.00 · concedes +0.05 goals
Attack line −2.7% · Defence line −17.4% of weighted minutes
  • DEF J. Aramburu Starter 6.57
  • MID Pablo Marín Rotation 6.46
  • DEF Luken Beitia Rotation 6.27
  • DEF Odriozola Depth 7.00
Total impact vs full squads
  • Malaga+0.2 pp
  • Draw-0.4 pp
  • Real Sociedad+0.2 pp

From eScored squad data: each player's weight is his role (core 3, starter 2, rotation 1, depth 0.5) times his share of minutes. Defenders and keepers count to the defence line, forwards to attack, midfielders half to each. EloLambda turns the lost share into fewer goals scored and more conceded (weight 0.1); the totals show how that moves the result chances.

Home / Away this season

Malaga · Home 0.75points per game · 4 home games
W-D-L
0-3-1
Scored
0.75
Conceded
1.25
Real Sociedad · Away 1.50points per game · 4 away games
W-D-L
2-0-2
Scored
1.75
Conceded
2.25

Actual results only, not forecast λ. Samples this early in the season are small, so these numbers are not used as a forecast correction.

Common opponents 5 this season

League games this season against teams both sides have played. A small, uneven sample: context only.

Head to head

No earlier meetings in our data.

Referee · Luis Bestard Servera 26 matches before this one

Per match, all competitions

Yellow cards5.19league 4.38
Red cards0.23league 0.28
Cards 5+73%league 56%
Fouls27.4league 24.8
Penalties0.19league 0.34
Home wins27%league 44%
Malaga3 with this referee
Record2-1-0 Cards · opp.3.3 · 3.0 Pens for · against2 · 0
  • D6 Sep 26H · Levante0–04
  • W2 May 26A · Eibar4–23
  • W23 Jan 26H · Burgos3–03
Real Sociedad

No previous matches with this referee.

From eScored match records before this kick-off. "league" is this league season's average; red is notably above it, green below. Cards · opp. is cards shown to the club and to its opponents per match with this referee. Context only: referees are not part of the forecast.

Goal timing

Malaga8 games · scored 4 · conceded 13
1 1 0-15
4 16-30
1 3 31-45
46-60
1 61-75
2 4 76-90
Real Sociedad8 games · scored 12 · conceded 15
2 0-15
2 16-30
3 2 31-45
1 2 46-60
1 6 61-75
3 5 76-90
Malaga10 games · scored 6 · conceded 14
1 1 0-15
4 16-30
1 3 31-45
46-60
2 1 61-75
2 5 76-90
Real Sociedad10 games · scored 14 · conceded 18
2 1 0-15
2 1 16-30
3 2 31-45
3 2 46-60
1 6 61-75
3 6 76-90

scored conceded, by 15-minute band (stoppage time counts to the band before it). Only games with a complete goal log.

Scenario lab Beta

Numbers are home · draw · away chances. Pick a scenario to update the forecast at the top of the page.