The Matchday 2 La Liga clash between Atletico Madrid and Elche will be held on August 23 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium. Atletico Madrid vs. Elche: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Atletico Madrid
The capital club had a disappointing start to the new championship. Playing away, Diego Simeone's side lost 1-2 to Espanyol. Once again, the Madrid team struggled against the Catalans and on the road, where they have only managed one win in their last five La Liga away matches (1 draw and 3 losses). However, Atletico has a streak of four home victories in La Liga.
- At least 3 goals have been scored in 7 of Atletico's last 10 league matches.
- At least one team failed to score in 6 of Atletico's last 8 La Liga games.
- In 19 previous home La Liga matches, the club suffered only one defeat (14 wins and 4 draws).
Predicted lineup for Atletico Madrid (4-2-3-1)
Jan Oblak – David Ganzko, Robin Le Normand, Matteo Ruggeri, Marcos Llorente – Joao Cardoso, Conor Gallagher – Thiago Almada, Giuliano Simeone, Alex Baena – Julian Alvarez.
Defender Jose Maria Gimenez is unavailable due to injury.
Elche
Eder Sarabia's side made a decent return to La Liga, managing a 1-1 draw at home against Betis in the first round. Interestingly, when the club was relegated to the Segunda in 2023, they had a streak of 5 unbeaten matches in La Liga (2 wins and 3 draws). Thus, Elche is unbeaten in 6 consecutive matches, the best run for the team in Spain's top division since May 1977.
- The club scored exactly 1 goal in their last 7 La Liga matches.
- No more than two goals were scored in Elche's last 6 league matches.
- The team has only won 2 of their last 21 away La Liga matches (4 draws and 15 losses).
Predicted lineup for Elche (4-3-3)
Matias Dituro – Alvaro Nunez, David Affengruber, Pedro Bigas, Leo Petro – Aleix Febas, Rodrigo Mendoza, Marc Aguado – German Valera, Alvaro Rodriguez, Ali Khori.
Forward Iago Santiago and midfielder Adam Boyar are out due to injuries.
Referee
Cesar Soto Grado (Spain)
Matches – 20 (La Liga, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 78;
Average yellow cards per match – 3.9;
Red cards shown – 6;
Average fouls per match – 23;
Penalties – 20%.
Atletico Madrid vs. Elche: Match Prediction
The Madrid side will be eager to bounce back after their opening defeat and quickly make amends in front of their fans. The tournament has just begun, and the team has already dropped 3 points, which might be crucial at the end of the season. Atletico is strong at home, and in the last La Liga season, they only lost at home to Barcelona.
In their last 4 home league matches, Atletico confidently won with a margin of 2 or 3 goals. Additionally, they have scored at least three goals in each of these games. Atletico has also beaten Elche in the last five home encounters in the league, conceding only one goal. I believe the hosts will comfortably handle the La Liga newcomers.
My prediction: Atletico Madrid with a handicap (-1.5)
