Elche vs Real Madrid: Champions to Extend Winning Run

• Real Madrid won this season’s first edition of the Clasico, beating Barcelona 3-1
• Elche are rooted to the foot of the La Liga table having failed to win all nine games
• Follow the formbook and back a handsome Madrid win in this midweek fixture

Elche vs Real Madrid Odds

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Elche vs Real Madrid Pick

Carlo Ancelotti’s side are unlikely to encounter too many difficulties against the team that is propping up the La Liga table.

Back Real Madrid with a -1.5 handicap (-110)

Elche vs Real Madrid Predictions

Real Madrid Win Clasico to Show They Are Still the Team to Beat

For all the understandable pre-season excitement about a new-look Barcelona, Real Madrid showed on Sunday that they are still the team to beat in La Liga. A 3-1 victory in the first Clasico of the campaign was important not just for the three points it gave the champions, but for how it showed that Barcelona still have a way to go before they have closed the gap at the top.

That is not to say that Madrid are guaranteed to win the La Liga title this term. Barcelona are only three points behind their arch-rivals and have made a strong start to 2022/23, taking 22 points from the first 27 available. Madrid are not flawless and Barcelona - and perhaps even Atletico Madrid - could yet overtake them.

At the same time, Barcelona have inarguably had a bad week. They will almost certainly exit the Champions League at the end of the group phase for the second successive season, having previously gone 21 years without bowing out before the knockouts. And the result at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu was another blow for Xavi and his players.

For Madrid, it was an important triumph. Karim Benzema got the ball rolling in the 12th minute and Fede Valverde doubled their lead before half-time. Ferran Torres halved the deficit late on, but the fourth goal in second-half stoppage time was scored by the home team rather than the visitors, as Rodrygo converted from the penalty spot.

Madrid were the more assured and confident team. That is perhaps in part because they were at home, and in part because Barcelona suffered European heartache a few days prior. But Madrid’s stability and continuity probably also helped in such a big game. It is why the best online sportsbooks have had them down as title favorites since the very start of the season.

Elche Need to Get Points on the Board Quickly After Terrible Start

Wednesday’s match at the Estadio Martinez Valero will pit La Liga’s lowest-ranked side against the current leaders and champions. Elche are rooted to the foot of the table going into matchday 10, having failed to win any of their nine assignments up to now. As things stand, relegation is starting to look more likely than not.

Perhaps that is not a surprise. After winning promotion in 2020, Elche survived by the skin of their teeth, avoiding demotion by just two points. They finished 13th last term, but it was not exactly a comfortable season in mid-table: only a late rally pulled them clear of the drop zone, and even after that three straight defeats once again threatened their place at Spain’s top table.

Francisco paid the ultimate price for Elche’s poor start to the season by losing his job at the beginning of October. The caretaker boss Alberto Gallego has steadied the ship with back-to-back draws against Real Mallorca and Valencia, but that first win remains elusive.

Elche’s problems are at both ends of the field. No one has conceded more goals in La Liga, while only second-bottom Cadiz have found the back of the net less often.

Whoever succeeds Gallego on a permanent basis will have a major job on his hands to turn the situation around, especially as Elche are unlikely to have tens of millions of euros to spend on new signings in the January transfer market.

Madrid Should Emerge Victorious Without Much Trouble Here

Elche have shown more fight, organization and resolve in their last two outings, but those qualities are unlikely to be enough to deny Madrid victory. Quite aside from the comfortable defeat of Barcelona at the weekend, los Blancos have been excellent so far this season: a record of eight wins and a draw tells its own story.

Madrid have won each of their five away games to date, and although it is notable that they are yet to keep a clean sheet on the road, Ancelotti’s charges have undoubtedly proved too strong for all of the home teams they have faced.

As you would expect, there is little value to be had in simply backing Madrid to beat the worst-performing side in La Liga (for more on this topic, check out our tips on how to bet the moneyline).

An attractive alternative is in the handicap market, where the underdogs are given an artificial head start. We like the look of Madrid -1.5, a bet which would be successful if the La Liga leaders were to win by a two-goal margin or more at the Estadio Martinez Valero.

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