The wounded Barcelona look to return to winning ways when they host the newly promoted Elche on Sunday night.
A poor showing at the Santiago Bernabéu saw Barcelona lose to Real Madrid in the first El Clásico of the term. After setting a record by winning all four clashes against their arch rivals a season ago, Barcelona’s defeat against Los Blancos confirmed their challenging reality.
Coming off three defeats in their last five matches, Hansi Flick’s men must bounce back. They’ve won their last 10 games against Elche and have never lost at home to the Alicante-based club.
Elche have impressed so far this term, though. The newly promoted side are sitting 9th in the standings after going seven unbeaten to start the term in their return to the Spanish top-flight.
Here is Sports Illustrated’s guide to Barcelona vs. Elche in La Liga.
What Time Does Barcelona vs. Elche Kick-Off?
- Location: Barcelona, Spain
- Stadium: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys
- Date: Sunday, Nov. 2
- Kick-off Time: 5:30 p.m. GMT / 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT
Barcelona vs. Elche Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)
- Barcelona: 5 wins
- Elche: 0 wins
- Draws: 0
- Last Meeting: Elche 0–4 Barcelona (April 1, 2023) - La Liga
Current Form (All Competitions)
How to Watch Barcelona vs. Elche on TV
Barcelona Team News
Flick will return to the touchline after serving his one game suspension during El Clásico. The German has a difficult job ahead of him, with a lengthy list of absences due to injury, with Pedri, the only player that's started every game this season, the latest to land in the infirmary room
The midfield maestro was already going to miss the clash against Elche due to his red card in El Clásico, though, and Marc Casadó is the favorite to partner Frenkie de Jong moving forward.
The Catalans could be boosted by the returns of Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo, though they’re involvement would almost certainly come from the bench.
Lamine Yamal, Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres will lead the line, while Ronald Araújo has a strong chance to get another chance to impress at center back following Barça’s poor defensive showing at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Elche
Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Elche (4-2-3-1): Szczęsny; Koundé, Araújo, Cubarsí, Balde; Casadó, De Jong; Yamal, López, Rashford; Torres.
Elche Team News
Elche were triumphant midweek in their Copa del Rey season debut to snap a three-game winless streak. The visitors will likely make wholesale changes to the side that took the pitch on Wednesday.
Barcelona loanees Héctor Fort and Iñaki Peña will return to face their childhood club; however, only the latter is expected to feature from the start.
Up front, André Silva and Rafa Mir will lead the line hoping to guide Elche to their first ever victory away at Barcelona.
Elche Predicted Lineup vs. Barcelona
Elche Predicted Lineup vs. Barcelona (3-5-2): Peña; Chust, Bigas, Affengruber; Núñez, Aguado, Febas, Mendoza, Valera; Silva, Mir.
Barcelona vs. Elche Score Prediction
Barcelona’s recent form suggests this will be far from a walk in the park for Flick’s men. They’ll have to be fully engaged from the starting whistle, or they risk worsening their current negative run and falling further behind Real Madrid in the standings.
It’s time for Barcelona to prove their character and bounce-back after a disappointing defeat a week ago. Regardless of the injuries, the Blaugrana still have plenty of quality to collect all three points in Montjuïc.
It won’t be pretty, but Flick’s men will respond and extend their win streak against Elche to 11 games.
Prediction: Barcelona 2–1 Elche
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona vs. Elche: Preview, Predictions and Lineups.
