Sports Innovation previews the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Elche and offers team stats and betting tips with the latest odds.
Barcelona seek a return to winning ways at home to Elche for their penultimate match of 2021.
The Blaugrana sit down in eighth in the La Liga table, with just 24 points from 16 games. They’re on a two-match winless run at the moment, and desperately need all three points on Saturday. Anything less will simply be unacceptable.
As for Elche, the Franjiverdes head to Camp Nou down in 16th-place in the standings. They’re only two points above the relegation zone and have lost six of their nine games on the road this season (W1 D2).
Our tip
Stats and facts for Barcelona and Elche in La Liga.
- Barcelona have lost 3 of the last 4 matches
- Elche have conceded in 21 of the last 23 away matches
- Elche have not won 7 of the last 8 away matches
- In 5 of the last 7 matches Elche played, both teams scored
- Elche have scored in 9 of the last 11 matches
- Elche have not lost 3 of the last 4 matches
- Barcelona have won the last 4 matches versus Elche in a row
- Barcelona have not lost the last 6 matches versus Elche in a row
- Barcelona have not conceded in the last 6 matches in a row versus Elche
- In the last 3 Barcelona home matches versus Elche the sum of goals was over 2.5
- Barcelona have scored in the last 4 matches in a row versus Elche
Current form — Barcelona v. Elche
Barca struggling for results
Only a single point prevents Barcelona from getting through their last 3 games empty-handed. They came up short, losing 1-0 and 3-0 against Real Betis and Bayern München respectively. Their latest match brought some consolation with a 2-2 against Osasuna.
The Franjiverdes on a roll
Elche are a bit back and forth at the moment, but at least mostly forth, as they beat Cadiz by 3-1. Following that up proved too difficult as they lost 2-1 against Valencia, before claiming 3 points in a 0-1 win against Unionistas de Salamanca.
How do the bookies view it?
Barcelona have won all five of their last home clashes against Elche and, therefore, are heavy favorites to win again. Mr. Green has priced a home win at 1.36. A draw returns odds of 5.30 with Unibet, which has also priced an Elche win at 11.00.
Barcelona v. Elche — fixture history
The last match between these teams was in La Liga back on 24 February 2021 and saw Barcelona claim a 3-0 victory.
The Blaugrana enter the match against Elche with a 5-1-0 record in their previous 6 encounters in La Liga. This amounts to an 83% winning ratio for Barca, with the visitors victorious in 0% of the last 6 encounters. These matches were also remembered for a large number of goals.
Current table in the La Liga
As the current La Liga standings shows us, the difference between the two teams is 9 points. Even though Elche cannot overtake Barcelona in the league standings right away, they will surely look to reduce or at least maintain the current gap. Barca, who are in 8th with 24 points, will do their part to widen the distance to their upcoming opponents on Saturday.
Man of the Moment
It is difficult to look past Lucas Boye, when searching for a goalscorer for Elche. He seems in wonderful shape and hit the target 3 times in recent matches.
With Memphis Depay still unavailable, Barcelona may turn to the likes of Ousmane Dembele to spearhead their depleted attack.
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