Elche vs Barcelona

Elche and Barcelona are set to trade tackles in a lopsided La Liga contest at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero.

It took Elche 20 matchdays into the 2022/23 La Liga season to get off the mark, beating Villarreal 3-1 at home in February, so it’s little wonder they already have one foot in the Segunda Division. They have since suffered four defeats in six league outings (W1, D1), most recently going down 2-0 at Real Sociedad on the eve of the international break. Nailed to the bottom of the table, 14 points adrift of safety, ‘Los Franjiverdes’ will have to play out of their skin to arrest an abysmal 20-game winless run against Barcelona in La Liga (D4, L16), including seven straight defeats in the run-up to this encounter. But they could still pose an early attacking threat, having recorded 26% of their La Liga goals this season in the first quarter of the games (5/19).

In stark contrast to their hosts’ season-long wobble in the drop zone, Barcelona could already be on the verge of landing their first La Liga title since 2018/19 after moving 12 points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, courtesy of three straight league wins. Xavi Hernandez’s side came from behind to topple Madrid 2-1 in El Clasico last time out to spice up their imminent success, meaning their four most recent league matches have been decided by a single-goal margin. Another victory is on the cards here, considering the ‘Blaugrana’ have been victorious in 11 of their last 13 away league outings (L2). Furthermore, they’ve registered ten triumphs in their 11 most recent La Liga travels to encounter teams from the Comunidad Valenciana (L1).