Barcelona get their Spanish La Liga title defense underway this weekend when they visit the Estadio Martínez Valero to face Elche on Sunday. Having lost each of their last 13 meetings, Martin Anselmi’s men will be desperate to end a 12-year hoodoo against the Catalan giants and secure their first win of the campaign.
Elche turned in a resilient team display in last weekend’s season opener when they fought back from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw against Deportivo La Coruna, with Marc Aguado netting in the 76th minute to cancel out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s first-half opener and force a share of the spoils.
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This followed a solid team display in pre-season, where Anselmi’s side went unbeaten in their five warm-up matches, picking up two wins and three draws while scoring nine goals and keeping two clean sheets.
Elche head into the new season aiming to improve on their performance from last term, when they managed just 10 wins from their 38 games to finish 15th in the table, just one point above the relegation zone.
Meanwhile, German tactician Hansi Flick guided Barcelona to the La Liga crown last season, clinching the Spanish top flight title for a second straight season since taking over in 2024.
The Catalan giants picked up 31 wins and one draw from their 38 league games to rack up 94 points, finishing eight points above arch-rivals Real Madrid in the runners-up spot.
The goal for Barcelona this season will be to three-peat the La Liga title, a feat achieved by just two teams (Barcelona and Real Madrid), most recently by Barca between 2009 and 2011 under Pep Guardiola.
Elche vs Barcelona Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- With 36 wins from the last 57 meetings between the sides, Barcelona boast a clear upper hand in the history of this fixture.
- Elche have picked up nine wins in that time, while the spoils have been shared on 12 occasions.
- Barcelona are on a run of 13 consecutive victories against Elche across all competitions, a run stretching back to May 2014, when both teams played out a goalless draw at the Estadio Martinez Valero.
- Elche are unbeaten in their last seven La Liga home games, picking up four wins and three draws since a 3-1 loss against Barcelona back in January.
Elche vs Barcelona Prediction
While Elche will be aiming to build on the positives from their stalemate against Deportivo last weekend, next up is the daunting challenge of a star-studded Barcelona side who have won their last 13 meetings.
Flick’s side have strengthened in the market this summer with several top talents, and we see them easing to a comfortable opening-day victory.
Prediction: Elche 0-3 Barcelona
Elche vs Barcelona Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result – Barcelona to win
Tip 2: First-half winners – Barcelona (The visitors have led at half-time in five of their last six games against Elche)
Tip 3: Over 2.5 goals – Yes (There have also been three or more goals in the last seven meetings between the two teams)
Edited by Peter Pedroncelli