- 1 Elche vs Barcelona: seven straight home games without defeat against the reigning champions
- 2 Elche: eight arrivals, a new coach and a home fortress to protect
- 3 Barcelona: five signings, a shrunken squad and a delayed start to La Liga
- 4 La Liga prediction Elche vs Barcelona
- 5 First, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling comes first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the visuals…
Elche vs Barcelona: seven straight home games without defeat against the reigning champions 
Elche are unbeaten in seven straight home league games and picked up 81% of their points at home last season. The Alicante club host the Spanish champions this Sunday, 23 August, at 21:00 at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero.
This is Barcelona’s first official outing of the 2026-27 league campaign. Their opener against Athletic Bilbao was pushed back to 27 August after several Catalans were involved in the closing rounds of the 2026 World Cup.
Elche, meanwhile, have already played. The Green and Whites started their season on 17 August with a 1-1 draw away to Deportivo La Coruna.
The scheduling mismatch creates a rare setup: Martin Anselmi’s side arrive with a competitive match under their belt, while Barcelona come in off six friendlies and a long international break.
The history books, though, leave little room for doubt. Elche are on a run of 12 straight defeats against Barca in all competitions and have not beaten the Catalans since December 1974.
15th last season with 43 points, the 2025 newcomers stayed up by leaning almost entirely on home form. Against a team that averaged 2.5 goals per game in the league, the gap still looks huge.
The real question here is the margin, not the winner. Barcelona’s long list of absentees is worth a proper look.
Elche: eight arrivals, a new coach and a home fortress to protect 
15th in La Liga in 2025-26 with 43 points, Elche backed up a second straight season in the top flight. The club conceded 1.5 goals per game over the campaign, a heavy total the new staff need to fix.
Martin Anselmi took charge this summer on an initial one-year deal. At 41, he is getting his first taste of this level in Spain.
Recruitment has been heavy for a club of this size: eight players arrived during the 2026 summer window. Fer Nino, one of those signings, is expected to lead the line on Sunday.
The opener offered a mixed read. The 1-1 draw in La Coruna did nothing for the points column, but it did give Anselmi a chance to rotate his 3-4-3.
Two players will miss Barca’s visit: Yago Santiago and Adam Boayar are both injured. The rest of the squad is available, which leaves little room for excuses.
Lucas Cepeda could come into the XI to add some spark in the final third. Elche will lean most of all on their most obvious asset, a ground where they have not lost any of their last seven league outings.
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Barcelona: five signings, a shrunken squad and a delayed start to La Liga 
The reigning Spanish champions are after another league crown and a proper push in Europe. Barca scored 2.5 goals per game in the league last season, with an average possession figure of 74%.
Five players arrived during the 2026 summer window: Rodri from Manchester City, Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, Jesse Bisiwu and Joao Cancelo. Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres went the other way.
The rebuilding is not done yet, with the club still hunting a top-class striker. Losing both of their main scorers has left a hole in the middle of the attack.
Pre-season was solid rather than spectacular: four wins from six friendlies, including a 2-1 victory over Al Ahly to finish and a 5-2 romp in Basel. Two defeats were a reminder that they are not quite fully tuned.
Three absentees matter for this trip. Frenkie de Jong and Roony Bardghji are injured, while Rodri, who had back surgery after the World Cup, is not ready for his debut and may only make the bench at best.
Hansi Flick is expected to hand Hamza Abdelkarim a start, with the 18-year-old striker scoring four times during pre-season. Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez and Raphinha complete an attack built on pace.
At the back, Pau Cubarsi is still working back towards full fitness after the World Cup. Eric Garcia should therefore take up the right-sided role, with Jules Kounde moving inside.
Expected Elche XI: Dituro; Chust, Redondo, Affengruber; Sangare, Villar, Aguado, Valera; Houary, Nino, Cepeda
Expected Barcelona XI: J Garcia; E Garcia, Kounde, Martin, Balde; Pedri, Bernal; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Abdelkarim
La Liga prediction Elche vs Barcelona
Our prediction: Barcelona win by at least two goals (handicap -1)
Twelve straight defeats for Elche against this opponent, no win since December 1974: that run is too long to be dismissed as a fluke. It points to a level gap that even a busy local transfer window has not closed.
The imbalance shows up in last season’s numbers. Elche conceded 1.5 goals per game, while Barca scored 2.5 a match on average with 74% possession.
Barcelona do have absences, but they are mostly in midfield and one new signing who was not expected to play here anyway. Yamal, Raphinha, Fermin Lopez and Pedri are all available, which should be more than enough at this level.
Back Barcelona to win by at least two goals against Elche.
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