Real Madrid vs Elche

Back to La Liga duties following a triumphant FIFA Club World Cup tournament, defending champions Real Madrid welcome rock-bottom Elche to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in a midweek league fixture.

Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior stole the show in Rabat as Real Madrid thrashed reigning AFC Champions League holders Al-Hilal 5-3 to bring home a record-extending fifth Club World Cup title at the weekend. However, the situation in La Liga looks far from promising, as after experiencing a false five-game league start to the new calendar year (W1, D2, L2), ‘Los Merengues’ come into proceedings lagging 11 points behind pacesetters Barcelona. Last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at mid-table Mallorca marked Madrid’s second scoring blank in three top-flight matches (W1, D1, L1), as many as in their previous 26 games in the competition combined. Yet Carlo Ancelotti’s men have gone unbeaten in their last 23 home league encounters against Elche (W19, D4), highlighting this as a golden opportunity to return to winning ways.

On the other hand, basement boys Elche stunned European hopefuls Villarreal 3-1 at home last time out, halting the joint-second longest run without a win from the start of a La Liga season (19 – D6, L13). But as the only side in Spain’s top flight yet to reach double point digits this season (9), it’s no wonder the visitors go into this fixture trailing safety by a staggering 12 points. Indeed, ‘Los Franjiverdes’ only have one foot in the Segunda Division, and addressing an underwhelming streak of 12 consecutive top-flight travels without winning (D3, L9) is necessary. But with Pablo Machin’s side conceding a league-high 24 goals on their ten La Liga road trips this season, it could be easier said than done.