Elche vs Real Betis

Real Betis will be aiming to get their La Liga campaign back on the rails when they take on 18th-placed Elche at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero.

Tipped for a season-long dogfight against the drop, Elche head into proceedings amid a rough patch, having lost their last five La Liga matches (D2, L3). The relegation-threatened hosts have been unexpectedly robust on home turf of late, with a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in their most recent league outing at home ending their six-game unbeaten run here (W2, D4). Elche’s top-flight credentials will face another challenging task in the shape of a Betis side they’ve only won once against across their last six league H2Hs as hosts (D3, L2). Entertainment has been relatively sparse in their La Liga meetings here, with the previous two featuring under 2.5 total goals (D2). That said, Elche’s last two home league fixtures have seen both teams scoring in games garnering 3+ overall goals.

In the meantime, the visitors have suffered a noticeable dip in form in the build-up to this trip, going from three consecutive La Liga victories to a brace of multi-goal defeats ‘to nil.’ Since a 1-1 draw with Mallorca in their first La Liga trip of the season, none of Betis’ last five away league matches have ended level (W3, L2), three of which saw the winner on the day keep a clean sheet. Betis’ hopes of getting back to winning ways are up in the air, considering they’ve only won once in their last 12 La Liga visits to Elche (D5, L6), courtesy of a 3-2 win back in 1975. Their cagey entries have seen Manuel Pellegrini’s men net just two first-half goals across their six La Liga travels this season.