Elche on course for promotion: Will the next win beckon?

The “promotion” mission is underway: Nine matchdays before the end of the season, Elche CF occupy a direct promotion place with 53 points in their account and are therefore on course for the Spanish top flight. However, numerous pursuers are breathing down the necks of the in-form “Franjiverdes”, in particular third-placed Espanyol Barcelona.

This makes it all the more important for Elche CF to continue their current winning streak – they have won four league games in a row recently. The league clash against Levante is scheduled for Sunday. Bookmaker Oddset is currently offering odds of 2.75 for a Levante vs Elche bet on the second-placed team

In contrast to the in-form visitors, Levante have hardly impressed in recent weeks. Since the 22nd matchday in La Liga 2, the “Granotes” have won just one of their last nine league games. It is therefore more than surprising that Levante go into the league derby against their in-form rivals as slight favorites.

The bookmakers’ assessment will be based primarily on the home advantage of the “Granotes”. Since the 4-2 defeat against Racing Santander, Levante have not lost a single home game in the second division and now have a record of 7-6-2. Bettors who therefore want to bet on the home side can get odds of up to 2.50 at Oddset.

Levante – Statistics & current form

Levante are in eleventh place in the La Liga 2 table with nine matchdays to go in the season, but the “Azulgranas” still have realistic hopes of promotion to La Liga. They are just five points off a place in the play-offs. Last week saw a major setback in the promotion race.

In the six-point game against Burgos, who are sixth in the league, Levante only managed a draw and missed a great opportunity to minimize the gap to the starting places for the play-offs. It was the eighth match in the last nine league games in which Levante remained winless.

The league derby against Elche therefore comes at an unfavorable time. The “Granotes” have home advantage for Sunday’s match in La Liga 2. They have only lost two league games in front of a home crowd this season. What’s more, Levante also came out on top in the H2h against Elche last time out

Will Levante remain unbeaten against Elche again?

Levante haven’t lost a league derby against Elche since April 2021. In the last three H2hs, the “Azulgranas” have a 1-2-0 record, with one of those two draws coming in the first half of the current season. The match at Elche CF ended in a goalless draw. For the second time in a row, a bet on “BTS: No” paid off in Levante v Elche.

A low-scoring league derby cannot be ruled out this time either. In Levante’s last six league games, the three-goal mark has only been broken once. During this period, there have also been three league games in which not a single goal has been scored.

Head coach Felipe Minambres is without at least three players in the squad due to injury. Compared to the team that played in the league match against Burgos last week, no major changes are expected for the “Granotes”. Mohamed Bouldini leads the internal goalscoring charts with seven goals to his name.

Predicted Levante line-up:
Fernandez – Maras, Munoz, de la Fuente – Grande, Kochorashvili, Martinez, Brugue – Romero, Alvarez – Fabricio

Elche – Statistics & current form

Elche CF have won their last four league games to climb to second place in the league. During this period, however, the “Franjiverdes” have mainly come up against teams from the bottom third of the table. It therefore remains to be seen whether the second-placed team will continue their run of form against Levante or whether they will slip up this time and remain winless.

This would be Elche’s seventh win in their 16th away game of the current league season. They have a record of 6-3-6 in 15 away games so far, with Elche CF scoring just 13 goals and conceding 17 in return for the second-placed team in La Liga 2.

Offense remains a construction site for the Franjiverdes

With just 33 goals to their name, Elche CF have the weakest offense in the top half of the table. The Costa Blanca outfit have even scored fewer goals than their upcoming opponents, who are currently in eleventh place in the table. An attacking spectacle can therefore be ruled out in the upcoming match – even though five goals were scored in Elche’s last league game.

The match took place in front of a home crowd. In contrast, only one goal has been scored in each of Elche’s last five away league games. The second-placed team are unlikely to make any major changes to their starting eleven. Óscar Plano leads the internal goalscoring charts with seven goals to his name.

Due to injury, their goalscorer is likely to be absent for some time due to an unfortunate ankle fracture in the last game of 2023 against Mirandes. Instead, head coach Sebastian Beccacece opted for Fernandez Mercau and El Ghezouani up front. The front two are also likely to play against Levante.

Predicted line-up for Elche:
Dituro – Salinas, Clerc, Donald, Josan – Carreira, Puigmal, Castro, Tete – Mercau, El Ghezouani

Levante – Elche head-to-head comparison / H2H record

The two clubs meet for the 52nd time. Levante lead the H2H against Elche CF with a record of 21-18-12. The “Granotes” have not lost to Elche CF for almost three years. Levante are even unbeaten at home against Elche. They will be looking to extend that record in Sunday’s match.

There was a goalless draw between the two clubs in the first half of the current league season

Levante – Elche betting tip

While Levante want to keep their chance of a place in the promotion play-offs, Elche are aiming for a direct return to the Spanish top flight. The race for the two direct promotion places remains exciting, as Elche’s lead over their rivals is negligible. Elche could be knocked off second place as early as this weekend.

The “Franjiverdes” have won their last four league games against teams from the bottom half of the table. They will now look to continue their current winning streak against Levante. For the first time ever, Elche CF will be aiming to win an away derby at Levante

Although Levante have only won one of their last nine league games, we think the team in eleventh place in the table can still pick up a point this weekend. Our Levante vs Elche betting tip aims for a draw at odds of 3.10. Betting on this already paid off in the first half of the season. For “draw king” Levante it would be the 15th draw in the 32nd league game. We are betting three units