Elche vs Atletico Madrid

Relegation-bound Elche and high-flying Atletico Madrid are set to square off at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero in contrasting La Liga circumstances.

A 2-1 defeat at Almeria in the previous round condemned dead-last Elche to a seventh defeat in their last eight La Liga matches (W1) as the hosts prepare for life in the second tier after becoming the first side to suffer relegation. With only five games left, ‘Los Franjiverdes’ (16 points) face the risk of finishing the season as the only side to fail to hit a 20-point landmark. However, they’ll likely have to seek points elsewhere after losing their last 11 meetings with Atletico in La Liga, including four in a row without scoring. Yet following a 4-0 demolition of Rayo Vallecano in their most recent home league outing, Elche could win back-to-back top-flight fixtures at the Martinez Valero in La Liga for the first time since February 2022.

On the other hand, visiting Atletico Madrid thrashed Cadiz 5-1 at home last time out, extending their winning league streak to three matches by an aggregate score of 13-4. Diego Simeone’s men have fared reasonably well on the road in 2023, suffering just one defeat on eight La Liga travels (W5, D2), including an overwhelming 5-2 win at Valladolid last time out. With an 11th straight top-four finish looking inevitable, ‘Los Rojiblancos’ come into proceedings on the back of back-to-back top-flight games in which they’ve scored precisely five goals, last doing so three times in a row in 1948 but never in the top flight. Regardless of their scoring impact, Atletico should claim another routine three points after winning five consecutive league visits to Elche, including the last four without conceding.