A relegation six pointer in Spain sees Elche host fellow strugglers Alaves in a La Liga clash at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero. With both teams looking to avoid defeat, Saturday’s match is likely to be a cagey affair with few goals.
A 2-0 defeat at Real Sociedad in their previous La Liga fixture did little to help Elche’s current situation. They were reduced to 10 men early in the contest and barely mustered any attacking threat, finishing without a single attempt on target.
Elche are involved in a fierce battle for survival in the Spanish topflight with just three points separating the bottom five. They remain 19th on the table but could find themselves as high as 16th if results go their way in the midweek fixtures.
The problem for Fran Escriba’s team is that they have shown little fight lately with just one win in their last 10 La Liga matches. They have also struggled in front of goal lately, scoring just once in their last three matches.
Alaves head into Tuesday’s match off the back of a 2-2 home draw against Levante in their previous La Liga fixture. They needed a late equaliser from Joselu after Pere Pons' first half opener had been cancelled out by the visitors.
El Glorioso have shown signs of improvement lately with manager Javier Calleja guiding the team to two wins and three draws in six matches since replacing Abelardo at the start of last month. They are just two points above the bottom three and need a win to keep their head above water.
Despite their recent improvement, Alaves continue to struggle on their travels with no away wins since January. They have also found things difficult in attack, scoring just once in their last four fixtures on the road.
How the bookies view it
Alaves are slight favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 13/8 by Unibet. A victory for Elche is priced at 21/10 by SBK while a draw is set at odds of 28/13 by the same firm.
Given Elche's poor form and with Alaves also struggling on their travels, both teams are likely to battle to a draw.
Head to head
Alaves have a slight edge in this fixture with seven wins from 16 previous matches. Elche have been victorious five times while both teams have battled to four draws.
Elche claimed a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture back in October.
Players to watch
With Elche keen to avoid defeat, they are likely to go for safety first in Tuesday’s match. Dani Calvo and Gonzalo Verdu often feature in central defence and will hope to help the team to a clean sheet at 41/20 with Sporting Index.
Alaves are also likely to adopt a conservative approach and will hope to shut out the Elche attack. Centre backs Victor Laguardia and Florian Lejeune will play pivotal roles if they are to keep a clean sheet at 9/5 with Sporting Index.
Anything else catch the eye?
With both teams struggling in attack, under 2.5 goals could be considered at odds 8/13 with SBK. It might also be worth backing both teams not to score at 5/6 with BetVictor.
Only one team could be backed to score at 5/4 with Sporting Index while it could also be worth a punt backing neither team to score at 13/2 with Betfred.
This La Liga match between Elche and Alaves will be played on May 11, 2021 and kick off at 19:00. Check below for our tipsters best Elche vs Alaves prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
