Elche vs. Real Madrid: Team News, Predicted Line-Ups, Live Stream, TV Info
Real Madrid will be confident of extending their advantage at the top of La Liga by taking all three points when they visit fourth-from-bottom Elche on Sunday.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side come into the match on the back of a 2-0 win away to Schalke in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie. They have won six of their last eight league matches but did fall to a 4-0 defeat to local rivals Atletico Madrid in their last away league fixture.
Per Alvaro de la Rosa of AS, Sunday’s match will be Ancelotti’s 100th as Madrid coach. The Italian will hope to mark the occasion with a victory that would see him equal the points haul (244) achieved by his predecessor, Jose Mourinho, in his own first century of matches on the Bernabeu bench.
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Madrid were 5-1 winners in the reverse fixture earlier this season. Edu Albacar gave Elche a surprise early lead from the penalty spot, but Gareth Bale equalised shortly thereafter and Madrid eventually emerged as comfortable victors thanks to four goals from Cristiano Ronaldo (including two from the penalty spot).
That defeat was one of six suffered by Elche in their first 10 matches of the campaign. However, they have found their feet in recent times, winning four of their seven league matches since the turn of the year.
Those results have given coach Fran Escriba some reason for optimism ahead of the visit of the league-leaders.
“We are in good shape in terms of results and the feeling around the team,” he said in the build-up to Sunday’s match, per M. H. Marcos of AS. “It’s better for this game to come now than a couple of months ago.”
He is, however, aware that it will be very difficult for his side to get anything from the match. Elche recently suffered three heavy defeats to Barcelona in both league and cup action, and Escriba expects a similarly demanding encounter on Sunday.
“Equalling sides like these for a half doesn’t do you any good,” he explained. “Against Barca we played a good hour, but these games demand the full 90 and however many minutes of concentration.”
Date: Sunday, February 22
Time: 8:00 p.m. GMT / 3:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero, Elche
TV Info: Sky Sports 5 (UK only) / beIN Sports (U.S. only)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK only) / beIN Sports Connect (U.S. only)
Form
| Elche | Real Madrid |
| Eibar (A): Won 1-0 | Schalke (A): Won 2-0 |
| Rayo Vallecano (H): Won 2-0 | Deportivo La Coruna (H): Won 2-0 |
| Granada (A): Lost 1-0 | Atletico Madrid (A): Lost 4-0 |
| Barcelona (H): Lost 6-0 | Sevilla (H): Won 2-1 |
| Levante (H): Won 1-0 | Real Sociedad (H): Won 4-1 |
| Barcelona (A): Lost 4-0 | Cordoba (A): Won 2-1 |
Predicted Formations
Madrid will again be without the injured Fabio Coentrao, James Rodriguez, Luka Modric, Sami Khedira and Sergio Ramos for Sunday’s match.
Ancelotti confirmed in his pre-match press conference that both Dani Carvajal and Raphael Varane will be available after recovering from the knocks they picked up in the win over Schalke.
He didn’t give away much information about his likely starting XI, but it is possible that he could elect to rotate a couple of the players who took part on Wednesday. Asier Illarramendi will hope for the opportunity to replace Lucas Silva in midfield, while Alvaro Arbeloa could displace Carvajal at right-back.
Per AS, Escriba is expected to keep faith in the same XI who started the victories over Rayo Vallecano and Eibar.
Madrid cantera graduate Pedro Mosquera will miss out due to a fracture of the tibial plateau in his right leg, while there are also doubts over the participation of defenders Sergio Pelegrin and Jose Angel.
Expected Elche XI (4-2-3-1): Przemyslaw Tyton; Damian Suarez, Enzo Roco, David Lomban, Edu Albacar; Adrian, Mario Pasalic; Aaron Niguez, Faycal Fajr, Victor Rodriguez; Jonathas.
Players to Watch
Elche: Jonathas
Jonathas has been one of the most impressive debutants in La Liga this season. Per WhoScored.com, the Brazilian has notched nine goals and five assists to date, and his strong and direct approach could cause Madrid some problems on Sunday.
The 25-year-old has endured a peripatetic career to date—taking in nine different clubs in four different countries—but could be set to stay in Spain come the end of the season. Per La Gazzetta della Sport (h/t Sports Mole), Sevilla have already begun preliminary negotiations for his signature.
Real Madrid: Gareth Bale
Bale has come in for some flak from supporters and the Madrid media for his supposed selfishness so far this season, and on the back of some mixed displays—most recently against Schalke on Wednesday—he could do with a strong performance.
The Welshman has scored in each of his previous two appearances against Elche (both at the Bernabeu) and will be hoping to make it three out of three on Sunday.
Key Battle: Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Enzo Roco
Young Chilean centre-back Enzo Roco has been one of Elche’s most impressive performers so far this season and is set receive a stern test of his abilities on Sunday as the player most likely to come into direct contact with Ronaldo.
The Portugal international regularly drifts infield from the left, and it is essential that Roco and likely right-back Damian Suarez communicate effectively to ensure that La Liga’s top scorer is covered at all times.
Ronaldo scored four times in the fixture at the Bernabeu earlier this season, and Roco will have to keep tighter tabs on him this time around if Elche are to have any hope of getting a better result on home soil.
Odds
Elche: 14/1
Real Madrid: 25/147
Draw: 6/1
*All odds courtesy of Odds Shark
