After rising to the top of the Spanish La Liga, Real Madrid will be aiming to put some daylight between themselves and the rest of the chasing pack. They travel to the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero for a clash against struggling Elche.
Two wins from nine La Liga matches this season means Elche have not had the best start to the campaign. It may still be early days but they are already close to the relegation zone and sit just three points above the bottom three.
Elche head into Saturday’s clash without a win in their last three La Liga matches. Fran Escriba's men have suffered two defeats in that run and were beaten 1-0 by Alaves in their midweek fixture where they registered just a single attempt on target.
One positive for Elche is that they are still unbeaten at home after five matches this season. However, they have claimed just one win in that run with four of those fixtures ending in draws.
Real Madrid failed to build on their win over Barcelona in the El Clasico as they were held 0-0 by Osasuna in their midweek La Liga fixture. They prevented their visitors from having a single attempt on target but also failed to find their own cutting edge in attack.
Despite failing to win, that draw was enough to take them to the top of La Liga, although they are level on points with Sevilla, Real Betis and Real Sociedad. The task for manager Carlo Ancelotti will be to retain their place and possibly open up a lead at the top.
Real Madrid have a fine record on their travels and have won three of their last four away matches. However, defending remains a problem having conceded in five of their six matches on the road this season.
How the bookies view it
Real Madrid have the edge among the bookies at 7/15 with SBK. An unlikely victory for Elche is priced at 33/5 with SBK while a draw is set at odds of 7/2 with betway.
Head to head
Real Madrid have never lost to Elche with five wins and a draw from six previous matches. Los Blancos claimed a 2-1 victory in the last meeting between both teams with Karim Benzema netting a brace.
Players to watch
Dario Benedetto has scored in his last two home matches and could be worth keeping an eye on for Elche. Bet365 has the striker at odds of 11/4 to score anytime.
Karim Benzema is the top scorer for Real Madrid with nine goals in 10 matches this season. The French striker scored a brace the last time Madrid faced Elche and could be backed to find the net on Saturday at 10/11 with Paddy Power.
Anything else catch the eye?
Karim Benzema’s form in front of goal this season means he can be tipped to score in a Real Madrid win at 6/5 with Paddy Power. Given their leaky defence, Madrid are likely to concede, so a win and over 2.5 goals could be considered at 6/5 with bet365.
Real Madrid scored in both halves in their last away fixture and can be set for a repeat at 5/4 with Unibet.
This La Liga match between Elche and Real Madrid will be played on Oct 30, 2021 and kick off at 13:00. Check below for our tipsters best Elche vs Real Madrid prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
