Ends Elche’s uncanny streak against Barcelona?
FC Barcelona finally want to make the step out of the crisis and climb up the table. After two wins under new coach Xavi when he took over, there have been two games without a win recently – which has left the Blaugrana treading water in the standings and further stuck in mediocrity.
The FCB now have a must-win game against FC Elche, where three points are actually a given. The oddsmakers also see it that way, as the odds of the best betting companies make clear in the Barcelona vs. Elche match. Barça are clear favourites in the match, which will be played at the Camp Nou on Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m.
However, that’s been thought more often this season about the Blaugrana, who dropped points against Granada, Cadiz, Alaves and Osasuna, for example. Three of these four teams are stuck deep in the bottom of the table, just like FC Elche.
The crisis and injury situation at FC Barcelona should be taken into account before placing a bet on Barcelona vs Elche. The Catalans have been lacking any consistency this season.
Barcelona – Statistics & current form
The personnel situation at FC Barcelona does not necessarily make it easy for coach Xavi to send a powerful squad onto the pitch – at least as far as the attack is concerned. Memphis Depay and Ansu Fati (both muscular injuries) are still missing due to injury, Sergio Agüero had to end his career in tears this week. Most recently, Ousmane Dembélé, Luuk de Jong and youngster Ez Abde formed the attacking trio – with limited penetrating power.
Although Barça scored twice in Osasuna, the team could not get beyond a sobering 2:2 in northern Spain, the next disappointment. For Barcelona gave away a lead twice in this match and conceded another late goal that cost them points.
Barcelona: problems with the defence and in the forwards
This was also the case against Betis (0:1) and Celta Vigo (3:3), when they also conceded bitter goals in the final phase. It’s not only in attack that Barça are struggling, but also in defence – as only two nil games in 17 league games have shown.
Predicted line-up of Barcelona:
Ter Stegen – Garcia, Piqué, Araujo – Busquets, F. De Jong, Gonzalez, Gavi – Dembélé, L. De Jong, Ez Abde
Last matches played by Barcelona:
Club friendlies
12/14 2021 – Barcelona (2)1 – 1(4) Boca Juniors
LaLiga
12/12 2021 – Osasuna Pamplona 2 – 2 Barcelona
Champions League Grp. E
12/08 2021 – Bayern Munich 3 – 0 Barcelona
LaLiga
12/04 2021 – Barcelona 0 – 1 Real Betis
11/27 2021 – Villarreal FC 1 – 3 Barcelona
Elche – Statistics & current form
It should be noted, however, that scoring goals is not exactly Elche’s forte. The Franjiverdes have marked only 16 goals in 17 games, only four teams in La Liga scored fewer goals.
Especially away from home, Elche have a hard time scoring goals and collecting points. There has only been one away win (on matchday 4 in Getafe). Six out of nine away games have been lost, with Elche FC scoring only seven goals on their opponents’ pitch.
Nevertheless, Elche have scored in each of their last three games, including a 3-1 home win against fellow relegation rivals Cadiz, which was of course their highest win of the season.
Elche’s new coach started with impressive win
Elche’s new coach Francisco Rodriguez had thus started directly with a positive exclamation mark. In the second game under his leadership, however, Elche lost 2-1 at Valencia last weekend, with the bats’ winning goal coming just a few minutes before the end. Otherwise, Rodriguez would have scored in his second game in charge.
An upward trend, or rather a change of coach effect, can be seen in the Franjiverdes. The home game will certainly not be a foregone conclusion for the favourites from Barcelona. If you think the visitors from Elche are capable of winning, you should take a look at the interesting betting odds at Double Chance X2, which offer an average of 3.20 for Barcelona against Elche. In view of Barça’s crisis, this could be an interesting bet.
Predicted line-up of Elche:
Badia – Palacios, Roco, Gonzalez, Barragan – Marcone, Mascarell, Fidel, Morente – Perez, Boye
Last matches played by Elche:
Copa del Rey
12/15 2021 – Unionistas de Salamanca 0 – 1 Elche
LaLiga
12/11 2021 – Valencia 2 – 1 Elche
12/05 2021 – Elche 3 – 1 Cadiz
Copa del Rey
12/02 2021 – SD Leioa 0 – 2 Elche
LaLiga
11/29 2021 – Osasuna Pamplona 1 – 1 Elche
Barcelona – Elche Direct comparison / H2H balance
Speaking of goal scoring: The difficulty Elche has in scoring goals against Barcelona is ludicrous: in the last twelve duels, the underdogs have not scored a single goal against Barça.
Unsurprisingly, ten of those games were lost, while Elche managed a 0-0 draw on two occasions. Most recently, the Franjiverdes have lost six in a row – with a goal difference of 0:23!
Of course, betting on a goal by the visitors in Barcelona against Elche now appears in a different light and can be viewed from two angles. Either you believe it will go on like this – or you belong to the faction that says: At some point, such an uncanny series has to end…
Barcelona – Elche Tip
In the past, a home game for FC Barcelona against a relegation candidate with limited play and a weak attack would have been a clear-cut affair. The question that would have been asked in advance would have been how high the Catalans’ victory would be.
Nowadays, the situation is completely different. Barça are lurching through the season themselves, having only managed six wins in 16 games – and almost every one of them has been hard-fought.
The Blaugrana are not falling easily at the moment, as the 2-2 draw at Osasuna or the 0-1 defeat against Betis showed – which is why you should expect a hard-fought game against Elche as well. The next point loss at the Camp Nou is nevertheless very difficult to imagine, which is why we are betting on a home win.
Since we believe that this uncanny goalless streak of the visitors against Barça must finally come to an end – and that would not be surprising given the shaky defence of the Blaugrana – we ultimately decide for the prediction: Barça wins and both teams score against Elche
