Elche v Real Madrid: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch

La Liga, Round 6

Elche ELC

15/09/2026 20:30

Real Madrid REA

Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero

Elche v Madrid La Liga preview

After his side doubled their points tally by drawing 1-1 at Athletic Club on Saturday, Elche head coach Martin Anselmi says his players “feel united” and know “the path we need to follow”.

Argentinian Anselmi, who briefly led Porto in 2025, was appointed in June to oversee Los Franjiverdes’ second consecutive season in La Liga and is seeking his club’s second win since April when they host second-placed Madrid.

“For us, the best way to defend is to have the ball ,” added Anselmi. “We need to maintain the same defensive competitiveness as we did at San Mames and defend by keeping possession.

“[Madrid] make complicated plays look easy and push you to the limit; you can’t give anything away and you have to be focused [throughout].

“The best teachers we coaches have are our opponents. The better coaches you face, the better you’ll become. It’s a privilege.”

Anselmi’s latest counterpart will be Jose Mourinho, whose only setback in the first six games of his second spell in charge of Los Blancos has been a 1-0 defeat at Betis on September 4.

That means Madrid are three points behind Barca at the summit, while Elche are second-bottom but capable of rising three points clear of the relegation zone with victory.

“I hope that, in three months, we are better than we are today, but I have nothing magical to say that in three months we will be at an incredible level,” said Mourinho, reflecting on a 4-1 home win over Rayo Vallecano on Saturday in which Kylian Mbappe contributed two goals and an assist.

“In every match and training session, the goal is always to improve. The more time a coach has to work with a team, the greater the chances of becoming stronger.”

Mourinho appeared wary of suggestions that Madrid have played cautiously this season, explaining that the quality of their opponents has made a high press and quick transitions difficult.

“We have players up front who can finish on the counter-attack and we are solid in a low block,” reasoned the Portuguese.

“I don’t want this kind of mentality, but I also don’t want to suffer in the sense that when we are deep, the opponent gets two or three shots that force the goalkeeper to make big saves and endure three, four or five corners.”

Elche v Real Madrid La Liga team news

Defenders Eder Militao (muscle) and Ferland Mendy (hip) and winger Rodrygo (knee) are continuing their recoveries from injury and remain out of Madrid’s travelling squad.

Centre-back Raul Asencio returned from a thigh issue as an unused substitute against Vallecano, as did goalkeeper Andrii Lunin following illness.

Aurelien Tchouameni has been playing an increasing number of minutes following injury and featured for 22 minutes against Vallecano, although Mourinho has suggested the midfielder is not ready to start.

Elche’s Yago Santiago is recovering from a knee injury the midfielder underwent in May.

Loan midfielder Facundo Buonanotte, who was borrowed by Chelsea and Leeds United from parent club Brighton & Hove Albion last season, put Elche ahead with a 50th-minute penalty on Saturday.

Left-back Roy Revivo, who signed for a reported fee of around £2.1 million from Maccabi Tel-Aviv on transfer deadline day, made his full debut against Atletic Club, while Kevin Lomonaco, who arrived from Independiente, is yet to make his bow.

Elche v Real Madrid predicted line ups

Elche: Matias Dituro, Buba Sangare, Federico Redondo, Victor Chust, Roy Revivo, German Valera, Javier Morcillo, Gonzalo Villar, Tete Morente, Facundo Buonanotte, Fer Nino

Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois, Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate, Dean Huijsen, Marc Cucurella, Federico Valverde, Bernardo Silva, Arda Guler, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe

Elche v Real Madrid stats, La Liga form

• Elche are winless in their last 19 meetings with Vallecano (D4 L15), although they took the lead twice at home in a 2-2 draw in this fixture last season, scoring through Aleix Febas and Alvaro Rodriguez and conceding to goals from Dean Huijsen and Jude Bellingham
• The most recent of their six wins against Madrid was in March 1978, with all of those victories coming at home
• With the exceptions of a 3-0 home defeat and 4-0 away loss during the 2022/23 season, Elche have scored in each of their last nine meetings with Madrid in all competitions since February 2015
• Only Vallecano (14) have conceded more Liga goals than Elche (13) this season, including a 5-0 defeat to Barcelona and 3-2 loss to Sociedad in their home games
• Elche winger Tete Morente’s two assists in the 2026/27 division make the Spaniard one of 12 players to have set up multiple goals without playing for Madrid or Barca
• Ferenc Puskas is the top scorer in the history of the fixture by six goals, scoring 17 against Elche during the forward’s time with Madrid between 1958 and 1966
• Madrid have scored at least twice in each of their last eight encounters with Elche, although all of the goals came in extra time as they came from behind to win away in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey in January 2022, when Gonzalo Verdu put the hosts ahead before Isco and Eden Hazard settled the tie
• Barcelona’s Anthony Gordon (4) is the only player with more assists than Vinicius Junior (3) in this season’s Liga
• Barca’s Lamine Yamal and Raphinha and Vallecano’s Sergio Camello are the only players who can match Vinicius Junior’s total of six goals during this top-flight campaign

Where to watch Elche v Real Madrid: TV channel, live online streams

Kick-off on Tuesday is at 20:30 BST (15:30 ET / 12:30 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Premier Sports 1 and streaming available on a vast range of devices via the Premier Sports app.

A Premier Sports subscription costs £120 a year, £11.99 per month on a 12-month contract or £16.99 per month with 30 days’ cancellation notice required.

Here’s the full list of La Liga international broadcasters.

Elche v Real Madrid prediction

Match Prediction

Elche

1 – 2

Real Madrid

Madrid have made a flawless start to the season at home but lost two of their last four away games and won the other two by a goal. Elche's winless start to the campaign has put Anselmi under pressure and the difference in quality between the squads should tell, but a repeat of their performance at Athletic Club could allow the sizeable underdogs to trouble the visitors.

La Liga table

La Liga 2026

Spain

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 5
1	Barcelona	5	5	0	0	21	4	17	15	W W W W W
2	Real Madrid	5	4	0	1	14	4	10	12	W L W W W
3	Alaves	5	3	1	1	11	5	6	10	L W W D W
4	Atletico Madrid	5	3	1	1	10	6	4	10	W L W D W
5	Sevilla	5	3	1	1	8	6	2	10	W D L W W
6	Deportivo La Coruna	5	2	3	0	9	6	3	9	D W W D D
7	Real Betis	4	3	0	1	5	5	0	9	W L W W
8	Espanyol	5	2	1	2	8	5	3	7	W D L L W
9	Athletic Club	5	2	1	2	7	6	1	7	D W W L L
10	Racing Santander	5	2	1	2	9	9	0	7	W L W L D
11	Osasuna	5	2	1	2	5	8	-3	7	L L W W D
12	Real Sociedad	6	2	1	3	6	11	-5	7	L W D W L
13	Levante	5	1	2	2	7	9	-2	5	L D W D L
14	Getafe	5	1	2	2	3	6	-3	5	D D L W L
15	Celta Vigo	6	0	4	2	3	6	-3	4	D D D L L
16	Rayo Vallecano	5	1	1	3	8	14	-6	4	L W L D L
17	Malaga	5	0	3	2	2	8	-6	3	D D L D L
18	Villarreal	4	0	2	2	6	8	-2	2	L L D D
19	Elche	5	0	2	3	6	13	-7	2	D L L L D
20	Valencia	5	0	1	4	1	10	-9	1	L L L L D

• Position 1, 2, 3, 4 : Champions League league stage
• Position 5 : Europa League league stage
• Position 6 : ECL Playoffs
• Position 18, 19, 20 : Relegation