Barcelona will be looking to keep pace with Real Madrid in the La Liga title race as they host an Elche side aiming for their first away win of the league campaign.
Match News and Current Form
Defending La Liga champions Barcelona lost an enthralling El Clásico 2-1 against Madrid last weekend, falling five points behind their arch-rivals as a result. That gap is all the more alarming considering that Hansi Flick’s side have lost three of their last five matches across all competitions (W2), with two of those defeats coming in the league. Barça now stand to lose consecutive league games under Flick for just the second time, but a stellar return of 13 wins from their last 15 home league matches places them as heavy favourites to bounce back and avoid an upset here.
Elche will hope an emphatic 4-0 win over lower-league opposition in midweek Copa del Rey action helps inspire a turnaround in their league form. A 1-0 defeat to Espanyol last weekend not only stretched their active winless run in La Liga to three games (D1, L2) but marked a second successive failure to score. The newly-promoted outfit are still punching well above their weight by sitting in the top half pre-round, but that’s despite struggling on the road, claiming just three points in five league trips this term (D3, L2) with defeats in each of their last two.
Head-to-Head History
Barcelona are unbeaten in 21 La Liga H2Hs (W17, D4), winning the last eight in a row. The Blaugrana are also unbeaten in all 24 home games against Elche in the competition, a club record against any opponent (W17, D7).
Hot Stats and Streaks
Barcelona have scored a pre-round league-high five goals beyond the 80th minute.
Barcelona scored 2+ goals in ten of their last 12 home league games.
Elche scored exactly once in six of their last eight La Liga away matches.
Elche’s opponents on the day received the first yellow card in five of their last six games.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Ferran Torres is in line to make his 100th La Liga start and could mark it positively having been involved in three goals in as many matches against Elche. Rafa Mir’s goals have contributed to five points for Elche this season (W1, D2) - four of his last six La Liga strikes have come in the 70th minute or later.
Joan García and Robert Lewandowski are nearing returns for Barcelona, but their lengthy absentee list was added to by Pedri, who is both suspended and injured. Barcelona loanee Héctor Fort is a doubt for Elche.
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Betting Analysis
Elche’s scoring record on the road recently means that backing Barcelona to win and both teams to score could be a profitable pick.
Author: Sridhar Bhamidi