Prior to the international break, Blaugrana secured a thrilling 2-1 win over arch rivals Real Madrid in the El Clasico, while the hosts were beaten 2-0 by Real Sociedad.
Barcelona will be bidding to extend their lead at the top of the La Liga table to 15 points when they travel to Manuel Martinez Valero on Saturday to take on rock-bottom side Elche. Prior to the international break, Blaugrana secured a thrilling 2-1 win over arch rivals Real Madrid in the El Clasico, while the hosts were beaten 2-0 by Real Sociedad. The victory helped the visitors to take their points tally to 68 from 26 games, while Elche have collected 13 points thus far, 15 adrift of safety.
Un dia de partit #ElcheBarça pic.twitter.com/mAJ7pwKJa8
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 1, 2023
Unless something extraordinary happens in the next couple of months, Elche will be playing in the Segunda Division in the 2023-24 season. Los Farnjiverdes have recorded just two wins from 26 league-games this season, and both the wins came in 2023. Their first victory was against Villarreal (3-1) in February, while the second one came away to Mallorca on March 4, thanks to Luca Boye’s lone goal two minutes from time. After that, the Green -striped ones came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against Valladolid courtesy of Tete Morente’s 96th-minute equaliser. But Elche couldn’t extend their unbeaten run as Real Soceidad handed them their 17th top flight defeat of the season on March 18 before the international break.
Barcelona, on the other hand, are aiming to extend their winning streak to five games in all competitions. Xavi’s side actually fell behind against Real Madrid in the el clasico last time out, courtesy of Ronal Araujo’s ninth-minute own goal, but Sergio Roberto leveled the score on the stroke of half-time, before Franck Kessie won it for Barcelona two minutes into the injury time. It was Blaugrana’s 22nd league-win of the campaign and the result moved them 12 points clear of second-placed Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish top flight standings. Barcelona have the best home-record in the league this term, collecting 33 points from a possible 39 in front of their own supporters. Meanwhile, the Catalonia outfit put three goals past Elche in the reverse fixture in September last year courtesy of a double from Robert Lewandowski either side of Memphis Depay’s strike.
Elche Probable Starting Lineup: Badia, Morente, Palacios, Verdu, Gonzalez, Clerc, Fidel, Mascarell, Gumbau, Milla, Ponce
Barcelona Probable Starting Lineup: Ter Stegen, Kounde, E Garcia, Alonso, Alba, Roberto, Busquets, Gavi, F Torres, Lewandowski, Fati
Opponents | Score |
Real Sociedad | 2-0 (L) |
Valladolid | 1-1 (D) |
Mallorca | 0-1 (W) |
Betis | 2-3 (L) |
Espanyol | 0-1 (L) |
Barcelona
Opponents | Score |
Real Madrid | 2-1 (W) |
Athletic Bilbao | 0-1 (W) |
Valencia | 1-0 (W) |
Real Madrid | 0-1 (W) |
Almeria | 1-0 (L) |
Last 5 match-results | Score |
Barcelona beat Elche | 3-0 |
Barcelona beat Elche | 1-2 |
Barcelona beat Elche | 3-2 |
Barcelona beat Elche | 3-0 |
Barcelona beat Elche | 0-2 |
The La Liga match between Elche and Barcelona will take place at Manuel Martinez Valero on Sunday at 12:30 am IST.
Elche vs Barcelona | Key Details |
Date | April 1 (Spain) |
Venue | Manuel Martinez Valero |
Kickoff time in Spain | 9:00 pm (Saturday) |
Kickoff time in India | 1:30 am (Sunday) |
The live telecast of the La Liga matches in India will be available on Sports 18 network. Besides, fans in India can also live stream through Jio TV. Meanwhile those in Spain can watch the live action between Elche and Barcelona on Movistar LaLiga and Movistar +.