Prediction for the match - 18 December 2021 Barcelona - Elche

Today, 18th December, the teams Barcelona and Elche will meet on the field at 17:30 (UTC). Barcelona is the favorite, at least according to the bookmakers. They give the coefficient 1.38 for the victory of the hosts.

Barcelona's miseries continued last weekend when they failed to hold out against Osasuna, drawing 2-2 despite goals from Nico Gonzalez and Abde. That result followed the thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League, and that means Xavi Hernandez's men are now three games without a win. Since then, the Blaugrana have made the long trip to Saudi Arabia to face Boca Juniors in a tribute match to Diego Maradona a year on from his death. It will be interesting to see how that result will impact Barcelona's fitness levels here. On paper, the trip is not what this struggling Barcelona side needed. Barca are currently in eighth place, three points off the Europa League spots, and five from the top four. Elche, meanwhile, are in 16th and a mere two points above the drop zone, though they should be better off. They suffered a defeat to Valencia away from home last weekend with Cristiano Piccini scoring late to overcome Lucas Boye's equaliser, but Elche had a goal ruled out earlier in the game despite the ball crossing the line. La Liga's lack of goal line technology was to blame for that, and Elche were understandably furious. Since that defeat, they have beaten lower league opposition in the Copa del Rey, and before it, Elche had beaten Cadiz and drew with Osasuna in a bright start to life under new boss Francisco. Barcelona are obvious favourites here, but Elche will take heart from the Blaugrana's regular slip-ups.

The teams have met 6 times recently. Barcelona was able to win in 6 matches. The most productive match between the teams took place on 24-го января and ended with a score of 0:6 in favor of Barcelona. If we talk about the most inconclusive match, it ended with a score of 1:0. The Barcelona was defeated then.

Barcelona can not find their game in any way, they were able to win only 1 victories in their last 6 matches. However the average number of goals per game for the team is 1. The hosts play well in defense, conceding an average of 1.33 goals.

The guests still can't find their game, they have won only 3 victories in their last 6 matches. However their score on goals scored is not so high - an average of 1.33 per game. The team's defense suffers, they concede an average of 1.17 goals, which is quite a lot.

The match promises to be interesting. And you can see the forecast of our service directly on this page.

Barcelona – pre-match summary

• Martin Braithwaite, Ansu Fati, Pedri and Sergi Roberto all remain out.
• Jordi Alba is close to a return, while Gerard Pique is suspended and will likely be replaced by Eric Garcia.
• Samuel Umtiti was a surprise inclusion last time out and will likely keep his place through necessity.
• Sadly, Sergio Aguero called time on his career this week due to a heart issue.

Elche – pre-match summary

• Pedro Bigas and Johan Mojica are doubts, though the latter has a chance of being fit enough to make it.
• No chances are expected for Elche here, with Francisco expected to keep faith after a respectable display last time out.