Elche hosts Barcelona in round 20 of Spanish LaLiga. The match will be played on Sunday, January 24th at Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero (Elche)
In the middle of the season, two LaLiga clubs at once decided to make drastic changes. Both Alaves and Elche have changed the coaching staff. Now we are interested in Elche. Jesús Muñoz Calone failed and was fired for unsatisfactory results. The Spaniard was replaced by Jorge Almiron. The Argentine specialist won the opening game – his Elche minimally beat La Nucia in Copa del Rey. Due to emotions, the players gave the new coach a victory, but it is important to note that the opponent's level was low. When more serious rivals came, the results worsened again. In the last five rounds, Elche suffered two defeats and gained three draws.
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The mood of the Barcelona players will not be the best, as the Blue-Garnets lost to Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup final (2:3). Ronald Koeman failed to take the trophy with the new team. Barca was ahead twice but failed to maintain the lead and conceded in the 90th minute. The Basques brought the match into extra time, where they pulled out the victory, scoring the decisive goal by hitting the upper 90. As for the Spanish championship, the situation has improved. The Catalans have moved up to the third line, but it will not be easy to catch up with the leading Atlético since the Mattress Makers have two more games in reserve. Lionel Messi picked up a red card in the Super Cup match and will serve a suspension. Moreover, Coutinho, Pique, Fati, and Roberto are in the infirmary, so Barca will be in a rather bad mood.
The hosts need to get out of the relegation zone. They will be highly motivated, and every football player wants to prove to the new head coach that he is ready to appear in the starting lineup. The visitors will arrive in a depressed mood. Moreover, Koeman cannot field an optimal lineup, and such performers as Pjanic, Dembele, Trincao, Griezmann, and Braithwaite do not impress and do not give the result that is needed. We will risk betting in the direction of Elche and a low-scoring match. Beyond that, the Blue-Garnets have a difficult calendar. Not all players will be able to recover and give their best in the upcoming match because a cup game is planned in the middle of the week.
Prediction for the match: Elche to win with +2.0 handicap
