Copyright sportskeeda
Barcelona will welcome Elche to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in La Liga on Sunday. The hosts have won seven of their 10 league games this season and have an eight-point lead over Los Franjiverdes. The Blaugrana suffered their second league defeat of the season last week, as they lost 2-1 to Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the season. Fermín López leveled the scores in the 38th minute, and Madrid restored their lead five minutes later. Pedri was sent off in stoppage time and will miss this match.The visitors have seen a drop in form, and they are winless in their last three league games, suffering two defeats. They played Espanyol last week and fell to a narrow 1-0 away loss. They bounced back in the Copa del Rey first round earlier this week, with a 4-0 away triumph over Los Garres.Barcelona vs Elche Head-to-Head and Key NumbersThe two teams have squared off 55 times in all competitions. As expected, the defending champions have the upper hand in these meetings, recording 34 wins. The visitors have nine wins, and 12 games have ended in draws.They last met in the 2022-23 La Liga campaign, and the hosts secured a league double with an aggregate score of 7-0.The Blaugrana have the best attacking record in La Liga this season, scoring 25 goals, 14 more than the visitors.Elche have endured a winless run on their travels this season, with three of the five games ending in draws.The hosts have scored at least three goals in eight of their last 10 games in this fixture.Only Celta Vigo have drawn more games (7) in La Liga this season than the visitors (5).Barcelona vs Elche PredictionBarca have lost three of their last five games, conceding 10 goals, and they will look to improve upon that record. Notably, they are unbeaten at home in this fixture, recording 11 consecutive wins, and are strong favorites.They have a few injury concerns for this match as Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gavi, and Raphinha will sit this one out. Joan Garcia and Andreas Christensen are major doubts, while Pedri will serve a suspension here. Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal will likely start from the bench.Los Franjiverdes have failed to score in their last two league games and will look to return to goalscoring ways here. They have failed to score in 14 of their last 16 games in this fixture.They have a clean bill of health as Yago de Santiago returned to training earlier this week.Barca have been the dominant side in this fixture, and considering their 100% home record in the league this season, we back them to register a comfortable win.Prediction: Barcelona 3-1 ElcheBarcelona vs Elche Betting TipsTip 1: Result - Barcelona to winTip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goalsTip 3: Both teams to score - YesTip 4: At least one goal to be scored in the first half - Yes
