Barcelona vs Elche preview, prediction, team news, and head-to-head

The Catalan giants are eager to bounce back after a painful 2-1 El Clasico loss to Real Madrid, which left them five points off the top. Elche, surprisingly sitting 8th, has been one of the season’s underdog stories and will find an opportunity to cause an upset in this fixture.

Barcelona enters this match on a rough patch, especially after a painful  2-1 loss to arch rivals, Real Madrid. Goals from Mbappe and Bellingham were enough to see Alonso’s team stay 5 points clear on the summit of the La Liga table.

Hansi Flick will be under pressure to get back to winning ways, especially being consistent to remain a force to reckon with both in the league and in Europe.

Meanwhile, Elche have done better than expected this season and are 8th table with 14 points from 10 games so far. Although they have only managed one win in the last 5 matches (2D, 2L).

With Blaugrana missing key players, this could be a good chance for Elche to grab points on the road. They will  be looking to take advantage of set pieces or quick counter attacks, especially since Barcelona have been conceding goals lately.

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Barcelona have dominated this fixture for years, winning all of their last 11 meetings. The last match between the two teams ended in a 4-0 flawless victory for the Catalan giant.

Normally, this would make Barcelona heavy favorites, but things are a bit different now. They are missing several key players, which could give Elche a chance to take advantage.

While Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski have gotten the green light to begin training after weeks of being injured, Hansi Flick still has a lot of injury concerns to be worried about.

Pedri picked up a fresh injury during the El Clasico, while Raphinha and Joan García are still sidelined. Frankie De Jong and Fermin Lopez will play at the heart of the team's midfield.

The visitors will travel with full force as there are no injuries reported for coach Eder Sarabia's side. The team's leading goal scorer, Andre Silva, will lead the attack while Barcelona loanee Hector Fort may possibly start from the bench for the visitors.

Barcelona: Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, E Garcia, Balde; Casado, De Jong; F Lopez, Yamal, Rashford; Torres

Elche: Pena; Chust, Affengruber, Bigas; Nunez, Mendoza, Febas, Aguado, Valera; Silva, Mir

Barcelona should keep the ball and create more chances, but Elche’s tight defense and Barcelona’s missing players mean the game could be closer than usual.

Ultimately, Barcelona should still find it easy to get past their visitors, and bettors can bet on Livescorebet that there will be plenty of goals.

Prediction: Barcelona 3-1 Elche

Over 2.5 goals

Yamal 2+ shots on target.